f    OCT  1  ^ )  1917  ^ 


BX  8495   .B8  M3 
Mains,  George  Preston,  1844- 
1930. 

James  Monroe  Buckley 


OTHER  PUBLICATIONS  BY  THIS  AUTHOR 


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RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE:  Its  Evidential  Value 

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JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


BY  y 

GEORGE  PRESTON  MAINS 


THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  1917,  by 
GEORGE  PRESTON  MAINS 


TO  THE  MINISTRY  AND  MEMBER- 
SHIP OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCO- 
PAL CHURCH,  OF  WHICH  JAMES 
MONROE  BUCKLEY  IS  PECULIARLY 
A  PRODUCT,  TO  WHICH  HE  HAS 
DEDICATED  A  PHENOMENAL  LIFE 
AND  IN  WHICH  HIS  INFLUENCE 
WILL  REMAIN  A  SOURCE  OF  PER- 
PETUAL ENRICHMENT,  THIS  NAR- 
RATIVE IS  LOVINGLY  INSCRIBED. 


CONTENTS 

Chaptsk  Paob 

Foreword   11 

I.   Ancestry   19 

II.    Boyhood   30 

III.   Preacher  and  Pastor   54 

rV.   Fight  for  Life   77 

V.   Editor   100 

VI.   Debater  and  Parliamentarian   122 

VII.   Traveler   142 

VIII.   Author   166 

IX.   Academic  Honors  AND  Official  Positions  193 

X.   Chautauqua — Wit  and  Wisdom   210 

XI.   The  Man   260 

XII.   General  Index   297 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

James  Monroe  Buckley  Frontispiece 

Mrs.  John  Buckley,  Mother  of  Dr. 
Buckley  (Born  Abigail  Monroe)  Facing  page  24 

Dr.  Buckley  When  a  Member  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Conference  Facing  page  50 

Dr.  Buckley  When  Elected  Editor  of  The 
Christian  Advocate  Facing  page  62 


FOREWORD 


One  who  attempts  the  life-narrative  of 
Doctor  James  Mom-oe  Buckley  should  under- 
take the  work  neither  in  a  spirit  of  overcon- 
fidence,  nor  of  underestimating  what  may  be 
rightfully  expected.  The  subject  of  this  nar- 
rative holds  a  unique  place  in  the  religious  his- 
tory of  the  times.  For  more  than  a  generation, 
and  throughout  a  period  when  his  denomina- 
tion was,  both  by  growth  and  influence,  assimi- 
ing  the  role  of  strong  leadership  in  American 
Christianity,  Dr.  Buckley  was  unquestionably 
the  most  potent  individual  leader  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.  This  is  saying  much, 
but  not  many  will  be  disposed  to  challenge  the 
statement. 

Dr.  Buckley's  life  presents  not  the  question 
of  mere  leadership — a  leadership  earned  by  a 
wealth  of  resourcefulness,  sanity,  tireless  activ- 
ities, unconmion  powers,  encyclopaedic  knowl- 
edge, and  phenomenal  versatility.  The  char- 
acter landscape  to  be  studied  and  if  possible 
reproduced  includes  a  bewildering  variety  of 

intellectual  labors  successfully  achieved  and 

11 


12 


FOREWORD 


awakens  within  us  not  only  a  sense  of  un- 
bounded admiration,  but  a  feeling  akin  to 
amazement.  All  this  is  the  more  magnified  as 
one  goes  back  to  measure  the  menacing  physi- 
cal handicap  under  which  he  began  his  pubUc 
hfe.  It  is  well  known  that  Darwin,  Herbert 
Spencer,  and  many  other  intellectual  celebri- 
ties, made  for  themselves  a  fii'st  place  in  the 
history  of  the  intellectual  world,  in  spite  of 
most  painful  physical  limitations.  It  remains, 
however,  that  few  men  conspicuous  for  achieve- 
ment have  overcome  greater  limitations,  and,  in 
defiance  of  them  all,  have  won  their  way  to  en- 
during strength,  to  phenomenal  toils,  by  a  path 
more  signal  than  that  traversed  by  the  subject 
of  this  narrative. 

Those  who  have  stood  nearest  him,  and  have 
been  his  closest  observers,  are  those  most  im- 
pressed by  the  very  magnitude  of  his  capacity, 
industry,  and  mental  fruitfulness.  But  even  to 
such,  a  just  largeness  and  completeness  of  im- 
pression is  furnished  only  when  the  sum  of  his 
work  is  reviewed  in  its  true  dimensions. 

However  alluring  and  stimulating  the  study 
of  such  a  life,  it  is  manifestly  no  easy  task  to 
reproduce  it  in  anything  like  photographic 
vividness  and  trueness.  To  fully  traverse  the 
activities  of  this  life  would  be  to  command 


FOREWORD 


13 


material  for  an  exceptionally  voluminous 
record.  Literally  many  volumes  might  be 
filled  with  worthy  matter. 

I  have,  however,  felt  that  certain  limitations 
should  be  strictly  regarded.  It  is  due  that  a 
wide  public,  so  far  as  may  be,  should  come 
under  the  touch  and  stimulus  of  this  life.  To 
plan  for  this  result  involves  consideration  of 
some  conditions  perhaps  not  altogether  ideal. 
The  age  is  preoccupied.  The  greater  number 
cannot  be  induced  to  read  elaborate  books. 
Experience  as  a  publisher  has  indelibly  im- 
pressed upon  me  the  fact  that  it  is  the  excep- 
tion that  the  biography  of  any  man,  however 
great  he  may  have  been,  is  widely  read.  It  is  a 
fact  to  be  greatly  regretted  that  many  of  the 
biographies  of  the  world's  intrinsically  most 
worthy  characters  remain  unsold.  It  is  their 
ignominious  function  to  gather  dust  upon  the 
shelves  and  within  the  vaults  of  the  publishers. 
If  a  published  life  is  to  reach  and  benefit  a  wide 
constituency  two  material  conditions  at  least 
must  be  practically  regarded.  The  one  is,  that 
the  volume  should  not  be  overlarge;  the  other, 
that  it  may  be  purchased  at  a  moderate  price. 

With  such  warning  convictions,  my  aim  has 
been  to  keep  this  volume  within  popular  limits, 
both  as  to  size  and  price.  If  in  response  to  the 


14 


FOREWORD 


needs  of  history,  or  of  a  manifest  interest  on 
the  part  of  the  Church,  a  more  voluminous 
record  should  be  called  for,  there  is  available 
abundant  material  for  such  a  work.  Indeed,  in 
interesting  and  stimulating  data  few  Uves  are 
richer  than  the  one  which  here  necessarily  re- 
ceives but  partial  record. 

Manifestly,  in  preparing  this  book,  the  task, 
as  related  to  the  mass  of  outstanding  material, 
has  been  largely  one  of  selection  and  elimina- 
tion. I  have  steadily  sought  to  deal  only  with 
the  sahent  facts  of  the  life  as  gathered  from 
many  sources.  How  successfully  this  has  been 
done  those  best  informed  must  judge.  While 
exercising  the  utmost  care  in  the  selection  of 
material,  it  will  doubtless  remain  that  some  will 
look  for  items  of  special  interest  to  themselves 
which  they  will  fail  to  find  reproduced  in  the 
book. 

The  plan  of  construction  for  the  book  itself 
has  not  proven  altogether  easy  for  decision.  A 
chronological  record,  from  start  to  finish, 
would  seem  to  have  much  to  reconmiend  it. 
But  I  have  become  much  impressed  that  Dr. 
Buckley  has  developed  prominence  in  so  many 
distinct  and  diverse  fields  of  activity  as  to  make 
it  desirable,  and  possibly  best,  that  the  nar- 
rative should  be  written  in  distinct  chapters 


FOREWORD 


15 


severally  devoted  to  the  departments  in  which 
his  creative  activities  have  been  most  pro- 
nounced. This  method,  therefore,  has  been  de- 
cided upon.  It  has  the  practical  advantage  of 
classifying  his  varying  activities  into  groups 
from  which  they  historically  emerge,  and  of 
giving  them  thus  a  distinct  and  significant 
treatment.  The  reader  may  be  thus  somewhat 
aided  to  pursue  any  department  of  the  life  in 
which  for  the  time  being  he  may  feel  a  special 
interest. 

From  the  ideal  standpoint,  there  are  doubt- 
less some  disadvantages  apparent  in  this  plan. 
First,  it  may  give  to  the  book  the  appearance 
of  being  a  volume  of  sketches  rather  than  the 
consecutive  and  unbroken  narrative  of  a  life. 
This  view  at  best  could  be  only  superficial. 
The  book  is  by  no  means  made  up  of  essays 
which  have  been  at  different  times,  and  here 
and  there,  written.  The  chapters  have  all  been 
written  solely  for  this  narrative.  They  revolve 
around  a  central  character,  and,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, they  fall  into  a  chronological  order. 
Second,  this  method  could  hardly  be  used  with- 
out the  liability  of  repeated  emphasis  being 
given  to  some  particular  qualities  of  the  per- 
sonality involved,  these  qualities  coming  to  the 
front  in  every  department  of  his  activities.  I 


16 


FOREWORD 


venture  the  hope,  however,  that  this  feature, 
whenever  observed  by  the  reader,  may  not  be 
found  a  serious  or  a  tiresome  defect  in  the  nar- 
rative. 

In  completing  my  work  on  this  manuscript, 
I  am  self -reminded  of  the  fact  that,  running  all 
through  the  work  there  is  an  obvious  strain  in 
adulation  of  my  subject.  I  would  neither 
modify  nor  change  this.  If  there  is  what  ap- 
pears adulation,  it  is  in  entire  absence  of  ful- 
someness.  Nor  is  the  record  I  have  penned 
that  of  an  obsessed  hero-worshiper.  While 
trusting  that  I  am  not  without  ability  discern- 
ingly and  judiciously  to  recognize  extraor- 
dinary qualities  of  character,  a  long  life  in 
close  practical  relations  with  men  has  fully 
impressed  me  that  no  man  is  either  to  be  wor- 
shiped, or  is  worthy  at  all  points  of  unqualified 
indorsement.  While  proud  of  the  fact  that 
through  a  long  series  of  years  it  has  been  my 
privilege  to  know  Dr.  Buckley  somewhat 
closely,  I  am  also  clearly  reminded  of  the  fact 
that  he  has  not  always  agreed  with  me,  nor  has 
he  approved  of  certain  opinions  which  I  hold 
with  great  mental  satisfaction  to  myself.  It  is 
also  true  that,  owing  perhaps  to  differences  in 
our  mental  habits,  possibly  to  temperamental 
differences,  I  have  found  myself  at  times  un- 


FOREWORD 


17 


able  to  assent  to  positions  which  he  has  quite 
positively  espoused. 

All  this  in  judicial  discernment  and  evalua- 
tion of  character  is  most  superficial  and  incon- 
sequential. I  have  considered  for  many  years, 
and  the  closer  my  contact  with  him  the  more 
positive  has  been  my  conviction,  that  Dr. 
Buckley  is  one  of  the  really  great  men  of  the 
times.  I  would  not  be  true  to  my  own  convic- 
tions were  I  never  to  refer  to  him  in  terms  of 
appreciation  which  would  not  apply  to  the 
ordinary  man.  I  am  sure  I  only  share  with  a 
wide  pubhc  that  extraordinary  admiration 
which  his  history  justly  evokes.  I,  moreover, 
am  free  to  confess  that  the  all-around  review  of 
his  activities  which  the  preparation  of  this 
manuscript  has  necessitated,  has  only  served 
greatly  to  enhance  upon  my  thought  his  sur- 
passing measurement.  I  would,  therefore, 
firmly  refuse  to  make  any  apology,  or  to  plead 
any  fault,  for  the  occasional  eulogy  which  may 
utter  itself  in  this  narrative. 

Conscious  of  the  limitations  under  which  I 
have  wrought,  realizing,  perhaps  more  clearly 
than  is  possible  to  any  other,  how  fragmentary 
is  the  product  presented,  and  yet  with  the  jus- 
tifying conscience  of  having  faithfully  done 
my  work — itself  a  work  of  admiration  and  love 


18 


FOREWORD 


— I  now  submit  the  result  to  the  public,  in  the 
hope — ^may  I  not  say,  in  the  confidence? — ^that 
the  lessons  of  the  life  herein  traced  may  be  as 
the  seed  of  a  holy  planting  which  shall  spring 
to  noble  fruitage  in  lives  hereby  inspired  and 
enriched  when  the  lips  of  both  subject  and 
writer  shall  be  forever  silent. 

Aside  from  sources  named  in  the  volume, 
the  author  is  indebted  for  several  facts,  which 
he  has  deemed  essential  to  the  narrative,  to 
the  kindly  courtesy  of  persons  standing  near 
to  Dr.  Buckley  who  have  very  graciously  fur- 
nished needed  information  not  otherwise  ac- 
cessible. To  any  one  familiar  with  the  proc- 
esses necessary  in  the  preparation  of  such  a 
work  it  is  needless  to  say  that  the  required 
selection,  arrangement,  and  verification  of 
facts  have  called  for  the  examination  of  a 
large  mass  of  material  previously  printed  in 
one  form  or  another,  and  coming  from  many 
sources.  If,  unhappily,  errors  of  statement 
shall  anywhere  appear,  it  can  only  be  said  that 
such  errors  will  stand  in  proof  that  the  most 
conscientious  efforts  at  verification  have,  by 
so  much,  failed  of  their  purpose. 

Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  1917. 


CHAPTER  I 


ANCESTRY 

James  Monroe  Buckley,  on  his  paternal 
side,  sprang  from  a  pure  English  stock.  Eng- 
land, from  the  days  of  the  Mayflower  Puritan 
to  now,  has  contributed  richly  to  the  best  things 
in  American  life.  England,  begirt  by  the  seas, 
territorially  small,  historically  great,  is,  in  the 
large,  rich  sense,  the  true  mother-land  of 
America.  Home  of  Magna  Charta,  seat  of 
world-empire,  mistress  of  the  seas;  birth-land 
of  Chaucer,  Spenser,  Shakespeare,  Milton, 
Wordsworth,  Browning,  Tennyson;  in  philos- 
ophy and  science,  breeder  of  the  Newtons, 
Bacons,  the  Huxleys,  Tyndalls,  and  Darwins ; 
historic  bulwark  of  the  Protestant  faith; 
creator  for  the  world  of  noble  ideals,  of  justice 
and  freedom;  land  of  the  primrose  hedge,  and 
of  the  ravishing  lark-song,  where  the  lawns 
have  sunned  themselves  in  a  thousand  summers 
— this  land  every  man  with  the  instincts  of  a 
true  American  may  gratefully  hail  as  the  con- 
tributor of  much  that  is  best  in  his  own  match- 
less inheritance. 

19 


20    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


The  English  Hneage  of  our  subject  is  clearly 
traceable  to  his  great-grandfathers,  James 
Buckley,  on  the  paternal,  and  Henry  Wilde, 
on  the  maternal  side.  James  Buckley,  the 
grandfather,  was  born  July  4,  1774.  He  lived 
in  Sholver  near  Saddleworth,  a  suburb  of  Man- 
chester, and  died  July  29,  1816.  He  married 
Mary,  the  daughter  of  Henry  Wilde.  From 
this  union  were  born  John,  the  father  of  James 
Monroe,  and  a  brother,  James.  These  two 
brothers,  when  still  young  men,  migrated  to 
America. 

Of  the  maternal  lineage  of  Dr.  Buckley 
there  is  a  clear  record  back  to  the  seventh  gen- 
eration on  the  paternal,  and  to  the  sixth  gen- 
eration on  the  maternal,  side.  His  maternal 
grandfather,  Clayton  Monroe,  was  born  De- 
cember 31,  1788,  in  Burlington  County,  New 
Jersey,  and  died  at  Mount  Holly,  New  Jersey, 
June  24,  1867.  His  wife,  Mary  York,  was 
born  August  10,  1787,  and  died  January  9, 
1870.  This  Clayton  Monroe,  the  grandfather, 
was  for  ten  years  a  justice  of  the  peace  at 
Mount  Holly,  and  for  another  ten  years  was 
judge  of  Burlington  County.  He  was  trustee 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  was 
esteemed  as  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  the 
town. 


AlSrCESTRY 


21 


John  Buckley,  the^  father  of  James  Monroe, 
was  born  May  3,  1805,  in  Lancashire,  Eng- 
land. With  his  brother  James  he  came  to 
America  in  1827.  Before  coming  to  America 
his  religious  affiliations  had  been  with  the 
Church  of  England.  Naturally  of  thoughtful 
and  serious  pm'pose,  he  became  controUingly 
impressed  in  his  new  surroundings  with  the 
necessity  of  conmiitting  himself  to  an  earnest 
religious  life.  His  associations  probably  de- 
cided the  casting  his  lot  with  the  Methodist 
people.  Accordingly,  in  the  spring  of  1828  he 
was  received  by  the  Rev.  Isaac  Winner  into  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Not  long  after, 
he  was  convincingly  impressed  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  preach  the  gospel.  In  a  desire  to  better 
his  preparation  for  this  great  work,  he  went  in 
February,  1830,  to  the  Wesley  an  Academy  at 
Wilbraham,  then  presided  over  by  the  cele- 
brated Wilbur  Fisk.  This  school,  on  account 
of  failing  health,  he  left  in  the  following 
August.  In  February,  1831,  he  was  licensed 
to  preach.  At  the  session  of  the  Philadelphia 
Conference,  in  the  following  April,  he  was 
admitted  on  trial  into  the  traveling  connection. 
In  1833  he  was  appointed  preacher  in  charge 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  Mount 
Holly,  New  Jersey.  It  was  here,  in  the  home 


22    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


of  Judge  Monroe,  where  he  met  his  future 
wife,  Abby  Lonsdale  Monroe. 

The  record  of  the  Rev.  John  Buckley,  so  far 
as  we  have  it,  is  one  highly  creditable  both  to 
his  ability  and  character.  He  entered  upon  his 
ministry  in  the  spirit  of  unreserved  consecra- 
tion. He  was  scrupulously  careful  to  attend  to 
all  details,  large  and  small,  arising  in  connec- 
tion with  his  work.  Preaching  was  with  him 
a  holy  passion.  In  nothing  did  he  so  rejoice  as 
in  proclaiming  the  message  of  salvation  to  his 
fellow  men.  The  record  is  that  "his  talents  as 
a  preacher  were  of  a  superior  order;  his  mind 
was  well  disciplined,  and  but  few  preachers 
could  set  forth  the  truth  more  clearly  and 
pointedly  than  he." 

Abby  Lonsdale  Monroe  was  born  February 
2,  1813.  She  was  the  first-born  of  three  chil- 
dren, there  being  besides  her  a  sister  and  a 
brother.  The  brother,  afterward  the  Rev. 
Doctor  S.  Y.  Monroe,  came  to  distinction  as 
one  of  the  General  Officers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  While  in  discharge  of  his 
official  duties,  he  met  an  untimely  death  in  a 
railroad  accident.  Abby  Lonsdale  Monroe 
early  entered  into  a  clear  religious  experience 
and  united  with  the  church  at  the  age  of  thir- 
teen years.    She  was  a  dihgent  student,  and 


ANCESTRY 


23 


her  girlhood  education,  which  greatly  served 
her  needs  in  later  years,  was  superior. 

To  her  the  Rev.  John  Buckley  was  married 
April  21,  1835,  by  the  Rev.  Richard  W. 
Pelterbridge.  Throughout  the  remaining 
years  of  her  husband's  ministry  Mrs.  Buckley 
proved  herself  in  every  way  a  devoted  and  most 
efficient  partner  in  all  his  Christian  work.  The 
time  of  his  active  ministry  proved  short.  Ex- 
acting devotion  to  his  work,  coupled  with 
incident  exposure  and  privation,  early  over- 
matched his  not  robust  health,  necessitating  his 
retirement  to  a  farm  for  recuperation.  He 
made  a  heroic  and  protracted  struggle  for 
health,  but  fought  a  losing  battle,  and  in  June, 
1842,  he  died,  "leaving  his  widow  to  care  for 
two  sons,  the  elder  not  six,  the  younger  scarce 
three  years  old." 

To  the  rearing,  the  right  moral  and  intellec- 
tual training,  of  these  children  Mrs.  Buckley 
thenceforward  gave  herself  in  incessant  and 
self-sacrificing  devotion.  The  lads  were  James 
Monroe  and  his  little  brother,  Henry  Clayton. 
It  is  the  career  of  James  which  has  called  for 
the  writing  of  this  work.  The  younger  brother, 
born  in  Mount  Holly,  October  6,  1839,  per- 
formed most  of  his  life  work  in  the  town  of  his 
nativity,  dying  there  October  2, 1915.  He  was 


24    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


connected  with  the  New  Jersey  Mirror,  of 
Mount  Holly,  for  more  than  half  a  century. 
At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War  he  en- 
listed in  Battery  "A''  First  New  Jersey  Artil- 
lery, and  served  his  term.  He  was  an  active 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  for  more  than  thirty  years  was  on  its  offi- 
cial board.  He  was  also  an  active  member  of 
various  useful  societies  and  organizations  of 
the  community. 

Mrs.  Buckley,  that  she  might  supply  herself 
with  means  for  the  physical  and  mental  needs 
of  her  two  boys,  established  a  private  school 
which  she  conducted  successfully  until  her 
recognized  abilities  led  to  her  appointment  as 
preceptress  of  the  Central  Public  School. 
From  a  grateful  hand  we  are  supplied  with  the 
following  picture  of  a  mother's  work  in  this 
relation:  "Thus,  through  winter's  cold  and 
summer  heat,  for  twenty  years  and  more  she 
wrought  for  her  children.  What  they  learned 
in  the  schools  was  less  than  what  she  taught 
them  by  correcting  their  language,  directing 
their  reading,  and  reading  to  them.  When 
the  tasks  had  been  mastered,  never  before,  play 
was  allowed.  Sunday  school  lessons  were 
taught  in  the  same  way.  Smiles  were  the  re- 
ward of  merit;  admonitions  or  judicious  pun- 


MRS,  JOHN   BUCKLEY,  MOTHER  OF  DR.  BUCKLEY 


ANCESTRY 


25 


ishment  the  penalty  of  neglect  or  disobedience ; 
but  there  was  ever  wistful  looking  for  the  first 
indications  of  penitence.  Amid  all  these  labors 
she  sang  in  the  choir  and  taught  in  the  Sunday 
school,  imitating  her  parents  in  devotion  to  the 
Church,  and  cherishing  undying  interest  in  all 
its  enterprises." 

Mrs.  Buckley  was  moved  by  ideals  so  large 
and  inspirational  as  to  forbid  the  confinement 
of  her  activities  and  interests  to  any  narrow 
area  of  vision.  In  the  stern  necessity  of  pro- 
viding for  herself  and  her  children  there  were 
laid  upon  her  tasks  that  would  seem  unduly 
heavy,  tasks  which  might  overtax  the  energies 
and  daunt  the  courage  of  a  lesser  personality. 
But  her  extraordinary  character  was  evinced 
by  the  variety  and  wide  range  of  interests 
which  secured  her  attention.  She  was  an  inter- 
ested attendant  and  observer  of  at  least  six 
General  Conferences.  From  the  days  of 
Bishop  George  she  had  heard  all  the  bishops 
preach,  and  many  of  them  had  been  guests  in 
her  home.  The  Ecumenical  Conference  at 
Washington  greatly  interested  her  and  claimed 
her  thoughtful  attention  during  all  its  sessions. 
She  was  actively  interested  in  the  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society,  and  was  a  close 
student  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Parent 


26    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


Board.  She  gave  helpful  personal  support  to 
the  useful  organizations  of  her  native  town, 
such  as  the  Dorcas  Society,  the  Female 
Benevolent  Society,  and  the  Ladies'  Aid  So- 
ciety of  her  home  church,  and  was  for  many 
years  treasurer  of  the  "Children's  Home."  At 
the  time  of  her  death  she  was  in  the  thirty- 
fourth  consecutive  year  of  service  as  woman 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school,  a  posi- 
tion which  she  efficiently  filled  to  the  last. 
Throughout  her  life  she  was  a  faithful  attend- 
ant upon  the  meetings  for  social  worship  in  her 
church.  Mrs.  Buckley  was  a  diligent  reader 
of  the  best  literature,  such  as  books  of  travel, 
pure  fiction,  poetry,  history,  and  discriminat- 
ing discussions  of  current  thought,  and  expe- 
rienced a  special  satisfaction  in  the  biographies 
of  eminent  Christians  and  philanthropists,  and 
in  treatises  upon  the  higher  forms  of  the  Chris- 
tian hfe. 

Her  annual  recreations  were  sought  and 
found  amid  religious  associations.  She  visited 
with  regularity  for  a  few  weeks  in  each  year 
Ocean  Grove,  where  she  was  a  sympathetic 
worshiper  and  critical  listener  at  the  services 
held  in  the  great  auditorium.  Greatly  re- 
freshed in  spirit  and  happy  in  mind,  she  re- 
turned from  her  last  visit  to  Ocean  Grove  on 


ANCESTRY 


27 


September  1,  1892,  to  pass  within  a  few  days 
to  her  translation.  To  Dr.  Buckley,  visiting 
her  ten  days  before  she  died,  and  within  a  few 
months  of  her  eightieth  birthday,  she  said,  "I 
must  be  old,  but  I  have  no  consciousness  of  it." 
"Thus  she  lived,  time  touching  her  so  softly 
that  in  her  person  and  mind  there  were  few 
signs  of  autumn  and  none  of  winter."  Her 
demise  was  sudden.  Seized  with  indigestion 
and  slight  neuralgic  attacks,  from  which 
neither  skill  nor  tender  care  could  bring  relief, 
on  the  evening  of  Sunday,  September  25,  just 
as  the  church  bells  to  which  she  had  "joyfully 
responded  for  more  than  three  quarters  of  a 
century,"  were  summoning  worshipers  to  the 
sanctuary,  "she  sank  into  the  final  quiet." 

The  highly  creditable  career  of  the  father, 
the  Rev.  John  Buckley,  was  so  brief,  so  fatally 
handicapped  by  physical  disease  and  weakness, 
as  to  make  impossible  any  reliable  estimate  as 
to  what  might  have  proved  his  exceptional 
power  and  influence  had  he  been  favored  with 
long  life  and  sustained  vigor.  To  this,  the  case 
of  the  mother  stands  out  in  marked  contrast. 
She  lived  to  old  age.  She  retained  to  the  last 
unimpaired  vigor  both  of  body  and  of  mind. 
It  puts  no  strain  upon  our  faith  to  assume  that 
those  qualities  of  mind  which  afterward  shone 


28    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 

so  brilliantly  in  the  person  of  her  illustrious  son 
were  a  direct  inheritance  from  his  mother.  Dr. 
Buckley  can  be  cited  as  no  exception  to  a  rule 
often  named,  that  great  men  are  usually  the 
sons  of  great  mothers.  Speaking  of  the  two 
httle  boys  at  the  time  of  their  father's  death, 
he  himself  has  said:  "They  knew  not  the  mean- 
ing of  their  loss,  .  .  .  nor  that  God  had  given 
them  a  mother,  who  to  her  tenderness  would 
join  the  authority,  self-control,  and  wisdom  of 
a  father." 

Appended  to  this  ancestral  chapter,  it  seems 
appropriate  to  make  a  brief  record  of  Dr. 
Buckley's  immediate  family  history.  He  was 
three  times  married.  In  each  case  he  married 
into  a  family  of  high  social  standing  and  influ- 
ence. On  August  2,  1864,  he  was  married  to 
Eliza  A.  Burns,  daughter  of  James  and  Au- 
rella  Burns,  of  Detroit,  Michigan.  She  died 
February  27,  1866.  On  April  22,  1874,  he 
married  Mrs.  Sarah  Isabella  French  Staples, 
the  widow  of  Lyman  J.  Staples,  of  Detroit. 
She  died  in  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  Novem- 
ber 29,  1883.  On  August  23,  1886,  Dr. 
Buckley  married  Adelaide  Shackford  Hill, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Levi  G.  Hill  and  Abigail  B. 
Shackford  of  Dover,  New  Hampshire,  who 
died  on  April  23, 1910.  By  his  second  wife  Dr. 


ANCESTRY 


29 


Buckley  has  two  surviving  children:  Mr. 
Monroe  Buckley,  a  graduate  of  Wesleyan 
University  in  the  class  of  1899,  and  now  prac- 
ticing law  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia;  and  a 
daughter,  Sarah  Isabella,  now  Mrs.  Ernest 
Edward  Pignona,  of  Morristown,  New  Jersey. 


CHAPTER  II 
BOYHOOD 

A  MOST  interesting  thing  about  a  great  man 
is  his  beginnings.  *'The  boy  is  father  to  the 
man,"  is  an  old  proverb,  and  as  true  as  old. 
That  distinguishing  and  irreducible  factor 
which  we  name  individuality  is  not  acquired ;  it 
is  inborn.  The  energy  which  drives  and  sus- 
tains a  life  of  phenomenal  achievement  is 
inherent,  a  constitutional  quality.  The  excep- 
tional brilliant  man,  the  man  who  moves  among 
his  fellows  as  recognized  leader,  is  born  under 
no  vulgar  stars.  The  light  of  talent  must 
have  burned  in  his  very  baby  eyes,  and  the 
ozone  of  storm-cloud  and  crag  been  a  stimulus 
in  his  boyhood  blood.  This  boy  is  dynamic 
with  impulse.  His  native  forces,  untutored 
and  undisciplined,  drive  him  aside  from  the 
beaten  ruts  and  customs  pursued  by  his  com- 
panions. His  imagination  riots  and  stimulates 
itself  in  a  world  of  fancies  such  as  never  lifts 
itself  on  the  vision  of  the  ordinary  boy. 

This  condition  is  critically  sensitive.  It 
abounds  in  grave  liabilities  as  possibly  affect- 
ing the  future  character  and  career  of  its  sub- 

30 


BOYHOOD 


31 


ject.  Ungoverned  and  misdirected,  such  a 
childhood  carries  in  itself  only  the  prophecy  of 
disaster.  Self-destruction,  and,  it  may  be,  un- 
measured damage  to  society,  are  the  not  im- 
probable outcome  of  untutored  and  undisci- 
plined brilliant  natural  gifts.  The  nascent 
powers  and  ebullient  energies  of  exceptionally 
endowed  youth  need  to  be  early  taken  wisely 
and  firmly  in  hand  for  training  and  direction. 
If  this  process  is  continuous  and  successful,  it 
may  be  confidently  predicted  that  its  subject 
will  finally  come  to  his  place  as  an  influential, 
constructive,  and  beneficent  force. 

Under  such  convictions  it  has  been  mani- 
festly a  matter  of  exceptional  interest  to  secure 
as  fully  as  possible  illustrative  and  illuminat- 
ing incidents  of  Dr.  Buckley's  boyhood.  His 
mature  and  public  life  has  been  so  conspicuous 
as  to  make  the  thought  that  he  was  ever  a  boy 
easily  negligible.  It  may  be  ventured,  how- 
ever, that  if  all  the  interesting  incidents  of  his 
youthful  history  could  be  collected,  material 
would  be  furnished  for  a  boyhood  biography 
not  less  interesting  in  its  kind  than  anything 
which  could  be  written  of  his  maturer  life  and 
activities.  This  might  not  be  the  life  of  a 
Huckleberry  Finn,  but  if  it  had  a  Mark  Twain 
as  its  author,  it  would  probably  furnish  no  less 


32    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


a  literary  revel  for  the  young  life  of  the  age. 
It  would  hardly  prove  the  mark  of  a  discerning 
prophet  to  expect  the  boy  Buckley  to  be  a 
model  young  saint.  There  must,  at  least,  have 
inhered  in  his  various  qualities  gravitations 
in  other  directions.  His  precocious  intellect 
would  early  expose  him  to  many  ideas  and 
influences  for  the  safe  treatment  of  which  he 
would  have  neither  maturity  of  judgment  nor 
sound  reason.  He  himself  tells  us:  "When 
about  sixteen  years  of  age  I  had  fallen  in  with 
some  strong-minded  but  not  highly  educated 
infidels.  They  talked  with  me  frequently,  and 
I  was  induced  by  one  of  them  to  write  a  com- 
position against  Christianity,  he  to  furnish  the 
principles  and  facts,  and  I  to  write  them  gram- 
matically; so  that  he  might  read  to  the  club  a 
presentable  paper.  These  men  were  of  the 
Thomas  Paine  class  of  infidelity.  I  read  his 
works  and  others,  and  doubted  the  truth  of 
Christianity  for  more  than  a  year." 

Were  it  not  for  his  illustrious  after-life,  the 
incidents  and  tendencies  of  his  boyhood  might 
not  carry  in  themselves  any  special  signifi- 
cance. But  they  form  an  essential  part  of  the 
history,  and  are  a  suggestive  index  to  qualities 
which  proved  decisive  in  the  making,  of  a  great 
career.   The  incidents,  therefore,  have  a  legiti- 


BOYHOOD 


33 


mate  place  in  a  narrative  which  in  their  omis- 
sion would  by  so  much  remain  deficient  and  in- 
complete. The  statements  herein  presented 
are  authentic,  and,  with  only  such  slight  verbal 
revisions  as  have  been  required  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  narrative,  are  given  quite  closely 
in  the  language  of  those  furnishing  firsthand 
information. 

One  of  young  Buckley's  earliest  recollec- 
tions is  of  driving  in  from  the  farm  to  Mount 
Holly  with  his  father  to  secure  a  cradle  for  his 
newly  arrived  baby  brother.  The  cradle  rock- 
ing in  the  back  of  the  cart  caused  him  to 
wriggle  about  frequently  to  look  at  it.  This 
occasioned  an  impressive  reprimand  from  his 
father,  who  feared  he  would  fall  out.  He  re- 
members this  distinctly,  although  he  was  but 
two  years  and  nine  months  old. 

At  the  age  of  three  he  could  easily  read 
simple  things. 

Though  his  father  died  when  he  was  but  six, 
he  remembers  well  his  taking  him  to  church  in 
Bridgeton,  and  of  his  parental  strictness,  par- 
ticularly on  Sundays,  when  he  was  not  allowed 
to  run  about  and  play  or  make  a  noise. 

After  his  father's  death  his  mother  took  the 
two  httle  boys  to  Mount  Holly  to  live  with  her 
parents.    After  her  husband's  affairs  were 


34    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


settled  there  remained  nothing  but  a  small 
sum,  with  which  she  purchased  Bibles  for  her 
httle  sons,  giving  one  to  each  as  a  ''father's 
legacy."  This  Bible  Dr.  Buckley  has  always 
cherished  as  of  priceless  value.  From  this  time 
his  home  was  always  at  his  grandfather's  until 
he  became  a  minister,  though  in  later  years  of 
his  boyhood  he  was  frequently  absent  months 
at  a  time,  either  at  school  or  trying  various  em- 
ployments either  in  Philadelphia  or  other 
places. 

His  grandfather,  highly  esteemed,  upright, 
a  "just  judge,"  was  of  a  silent  and  stern 
manner,  and  while  fond  of  the  children  ex- 
pected them  to  be  "seen  and  not  heard."  This 
was  particularly  hard  upon  James,  whose 
nature  was  such  that  he  could  not  long  be  still. 
He  must  be  doing  something.  In  those  days 
not  much  diverting  entertainment  was  pro- 
vided for  children  and  he  was  continually  get- 
ting into  mischief,  involving  his  frequent  pun- 
ishment, while  the  younger  brother,  who  was 
quiet  by  nature,  was  always  considered  the 
"good  boy."  At  such  times  his  devoted  grand- 
mother often  stood  between  him  and  the  judg- 
ment seat.  This  very  "restlessness"  was 
symptomatic  of  a  force  which  pushed  him  to 
the  front  on  life's  later  walks. 


BOYHOOD 


35 


At  the  age  of  seven,  of  course  without  per- 
mission, he  set  out  one  day  "to  see  the  world." 
When  seven  miles  away  from  town,  he  met  the 
fish  man,  who  inquired  his  destination.  This 
man,  when  informed  of  the  boy's  intention  "to 
see  the  world,"  agreed  that  it  was  a  fine  idea, 
but  suggested  that  a  ride  back  to  Mount  Holly 
in  the  fish  wagon  would  be  pleasant.  To  this 
suggestion  the  boy,  already  a  bit  weary,  readily 
agreed,  and  so  ended  his  first  "tour."  In  his 
own  published  reminiscences  he  records  an  inci- 
dent, also  occurring  at  about  the  age  of  seven, 
of  twenty-seven  cakes.  The  cakes,  which  had 
been  prepared  for  company,  he  distributed  to 
various  small  friends  who  with  himself  con- 
sumed the  entire  number.  A  quite  enjoyable 
prank,  no  doubt,  but  his  judicial  grandfather 
counted  it  worthy  of  retribution  by  twenty- 
seven  spanks.  For  years  thereafter,  the  simple 
word  "Remember"  from  his  grandfather's  lips 
proved  quite  effective  in  restraining  his  tend- 
ency to  overt  mischief. 

When  not  far  from  the  same  age  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  inviting  his  little  friends  to 
a  party  at  his  house.  As  there  were  no  prepa- 
rations, his  family  knowing  nothing  of  the  in- 
vitation, the  children  on  arrival,  decked  out  in 
their  best,  had  to  be  turned  away  from  the  door. 


36    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


with  the  result  that  shortly  after  the  event 
James  was  called  upon  to  attend  a  private 
party  far  less  festive  and  romantic  than  the  one 
which  he  had  planned. 

An  incident  illustrative  of  his  restless  inge- 
nuity occurred  one  evening  when  the  Misses 
Gilder,  aunts  of  Richard  Watson  Gilder,  were 
invited  to  "eat."  The  boys  were  not  allowed  at 
table,  but  were  told  to  stay  in  the  sitting  room, 
above  the  dining  room,  and  to  "be  quiet."  All 
was  quiet  for  a  time,  but  James  soon  conceived 
the  idea  of  getting  under  the  table  with  his 
brother  and  trying  to  see  how  high  they  could 
lift  it  with  their  backs.  This  caused  a  catas- 
trophe, all  the  things  upon  the  table,  including 
an  old-fashioned  desk  box,  crashing  to  the  floor, 
and  causing  the  "tea  party"  below  to  rush  up- 
stairs to  learn  what  dreadful  thing  had  hap- 
pened. This  incident  was  most  naturally  fol- 
lowed by  another  serious  arraignment  at  the 
seat  of  judgment. 

As  a  child,  James  frequently  visited  the 
court  house  with  his  grandfather.  A  great  im- 
pression was  made  upon  him  at  one  time  when 
his  grandfather,  just  for  a  few  seconds,  shut 
him  up  in  a  dark  cell  in  the  jail  to  show  him 
what  would  happen  to  naughty  boys  who  grew 
up  to  be  bad  men.   His  grandfather,  however 


BOYHOOD 


37 


stern  in  manner,  was  very  fond  of  his  little 
grandson.  James  remembers  many  happy 
walks  with  him  on  Sunday  afternoons,  which 
were  conditioned  especially  upon  his  own  pre- 
vious good  behavior  in  church  and  Sunday 
school.  They  used  to  climb  the  mount,  from 
which  Mount  Holly  is  named,  and  from  this 
elevation  the  lad  would  look  off  across  the 
country  and  plan  for  a  time  when  he  should 
explore  the  world  lying  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  horizon. 

Once  during  these  early  years  the  New 
Jersey  Conference  met  in  Mount  Holly,  when 
several  of  the  ministers  were  guests  of  the 
family.  On  this  occasion  James  acted  as  a 
page  to  the  Conference,  and  he  remembers  very 
well  Bishop  Beverly  Waugh,  who  presided, 
and  Dr.  A.  E.  Ballard,  who  is  now  the  only 
living  man  left  to  call  him  "Jimmy." 

He  first  entered  Pennington  Seminary  in 
1848,  in  his  fourteenth  year,  where  he  remained 
for  three  years.  A  letter  to  his  mother  from 
the  Principal,  Dr.  J.  Townley  Crane,  under 
date  of  November  26,  1849,  well  reflects  some 
of  the  boy's  traits  at  this  period.  Doctor 
Crane  says:  "As  far  as  obedience  to  my  direc- 
tions is  concerned,  I  have  no  special  fault  to 
find  with  James.  He  is  always  respectful,  and 


38    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


never  resists  my  commands  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree. The  only  things  for  which  I  have  had 
occasion  to  reprove  him  were  the  by  no  means 
rare  faults  among  children  and  youth,  occa- 
sional inattention  to  study,  and  a  kind  of 
humorous  recklessness  in  his  assertions  when 
talking  with  his  fellow  students,  a  propensity 
to  enlarge  and  magnify,  something  after  the 
fashion  of  that  well-known  child's  book,  Sind- 
bad  the  Sailor.  This  I  have  considered  im- 
proper, because  of  its  tendency  to  real  decep- 
tions, and  representations  designedly  false,  and 
I  therefore  talked  to  him  very  seriously,  though 
very  kindly  too,  respecting  this  habit,  and  he 
promised  to  reform." 

He  was  a  boy  of  generous  courage  and  hon- 
esty. When  some  of  the  boys,  his  mates,  would 
make  expeditions  to  neighboring  farms  forag- 
ing for  peaches,  apples,  and  other  fruits,  with- 
out asking  permission  of  the  owners,  it  would 
be  like  him  boldly  to  approach  the  front  door 
and  pohtely  ask  if  he  "might  have  a  few 
peaches."  The  well-nigh  invariable  result  was, 
the  farmer's  wife  being  so  pleased  to  have  him 
ask  instead  of  helping  himself,  that  he  usually 
received  as  a  free  gift  some  of  the  best  of  the 
fruit. 

His  quick  wit,  which  in  after  life  ever  proved 


BOYHOOD 


39 


itself  an  exhaustless  fund,  voiced  itself  in  the 
following  incident.  It  is  to  be  remembered 
that  the  principal  of  the  Seminary  was  a  some- 
what fastidious  dresser.  Under  the  necessity 
of  wearing  glasses,  he  wore  a  fine  type  of  the 
gold-mounted  sort.  One  day  young  Buckley 
appeared  in  class  with  a  very  large  pair  of 
spectacle  frames  made  of  coarse  wire  and  per- 
fectly adjusted  to  his  nose.  Wearing  this  con- 
spicuous facial  ornament,  he  sat  in  his  place 
sober  as  a  judge,  while  other  members  of  the 
class  were  convulsed  with  laughter.  Dr. 
Crane,  seeing  what  was  going  on,  turned  to 
Buckley  and  said : 

"Do  you  wear  those  for  use  or  for  ornament, 
Mr.  Buckley?" 

"For  use.  Doctor.  If  they  were  for  orna- 
ment, I  should  have  had  gold." 

If  Dr.  Crane  was  the  first,  he  was  by  no 
means  the  last  dignified  Doctor  of  Divinity 
who  finally  went  down  under  the  shaft  of 
James  M.  Buckley's  wit. 

After  his  first  period  at  Pennington  he  re- 
mained out  of  school  for  two  years,  during 
which  time  he  attempted  several  kinds  of  em- 
ployment. He  was  by  turns,  an  errand  boy  in 
a  dry  goods  store,  a  clerk  in  another  store,  an 
errand  boy  for  a  large  auction  house,  the  same 


40    JAMES  MOXROE  BUCKLEY 


in  a  hardware  establishment,  and  was  also 
employed  in  a  lumber  yard,  where  he  met  with 
a  serious  accident.  Being  sent  on  an  errand, 
and  deciding  that  he  would  prefer  to  ride  than 
to  walk,  he  harnessed  a  horse  which  he  had 
been  forbidden  to  drive.  The  animal  proving 
too  much  for  the  young  driver,  ran  away,  threw 
the  lad  out,  wrecked  the  wagon,  and  ran  into 
the  Delaware  River,  where  it  was  drowned. 
The  lad  remained  imconscious  for  nearly  a 
week,  and  it  was  thought  that  even  if  he  should 
survive  he  was  permanently  injured.  He 
finally  recovered.  But  having  disobeyed  orders, 
and  having  caused  his  proprietor  the  loss  of  a 
valuable  horse,  he  was  informed  that  his  serv- 
ices in  that  establishment  would  no  longer  be. 
required.  Having  read  Franklin's  idea  that 
"all  boys  should  have  a  trade,"  he  finally  per- 
suaded his  mother  to  let  him  apprentice  him- 
self to  a  harness  maker,  where  he  became  quite 
proficient  in  sewing  traces,  which  work  in  those 
days  was  done  by  hand.  At  one  time  he  set 
out  to  go  to  California,  earning  his  way  as  he 
went  along.  He  was  gone  from  home  nine 
weeks,  but  only  got  as  far  as  the  upper  part  of 
Delaware,  where  a  felon  developed  on  his 
finger  which  painfully  forced  upon  him  the 
conclusion  that  "home  and  mother"  were  of  all 


BOYHOOD 


41 


earthly  attractions  the  dearest.  But,  being 
destitute  of  money,  he  was  obhged  to  make  his 
homeward  journey  on  foot. 

When  Kossuth,  the  great  Hungarian  pa- 
triot, visited  this  country,  young  Buckley  saw 
and  heard  him  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  so  im- 
pressed that  then  and  there  he  inwardly  re- 
solved that  some  day  he  would  visit  the  coun- 
try whence  Kossuth  came. 

He  entered  Pennington  for  a  second  period 
in  the  fall  of  1854.  An  incident  of  this  period 
illustrative  of  his  readiness  for  mischievous  fun 
is  related  by  one  of  his  schoolmates,  the  late 
Colonel  Dobbins.  Being  out  together  one 
night,  they  passed  a  neighbor's  house  where 
several  young  ladies  were  singing.  After 
listening  for  a  time  to  the  music,  Buckley  in- 
flated his  lungs  and,  without  giving  Dobbins 
any  hint  of  what  he  intended,  roared  at  the  top 
of  his  voice,  "Hark,  from  the  tombs  a  doleful 
sound,"  and  then  shot  into  the  underbrush  by 
the  side  of  the  road  so  quickly  as  to  leave  his 
surprised  companion  quite  alone  to  take  what- 
ever consequences  might  ensue.  The  family 
came  pouring  out  of  the  house  to  see  who  the 
disturbers  might  be,  and  found  poor  Dobbins 
by  himself  very  much  nonplused  and  speech- 
less.   Colonel  Dobbins  never  relinquished  the 


42    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


conviction  that  Buckley  as  a  young  fellow  was 
always  expert  in  getting  himself  out  of  trouble, 
whatever  might  become  of  his  unfortunate 
partners. 

One  of  his  early  teachers,  at  this  writing  still 
living  and  in  his  eighty-seventh  year,  a  life- 
long and  cherished  friend  of  Dr.  Buckley,  Dr. 
Thomas  H.  Landon,  relates  substantially  as 
follows  some  interesting  reminiscences  dating 
from  the  second  period  of  Young  Buckley's  life 
in  Pennington  Seminary.  He  says: 

"My  acquaintance  with  him  began  this  way. 
In  the  fall  of  1854,  while  I  was  teaching  at 
Pennington  Seminary,  I  stepped  into  the  office 
of  Dr.  J.  T.  Crane,  then  principal  of  the 
school,  and  was  introduced  to  a  youth,  who  had 
just  arrived  from  Mount  Holly,  the  home  of 
his  mother.  We  immediately  began  to  size 
each  other  up.  I  saw  a  youth  of  about  eighteen 
years,  of  medium  size,  but  very  hght  weight, 
with  an  eye  as  keen  as  an  eagle's,  and  a  very 
large  head.  He  was  not  long  in  telling  me  that 
he  had  attended  the  school  some  three  or  four 
years  before.  Just  why  he  had  left  it  I  did  not 
learn,  or,  if  I  did,  I  do  not  remember.  Then 
and  there  began  an  acquaintance  with  the  boy, 
which  during  his  school  days  there,  and  brief 
course  in  college  at  Middletown,  and  in  after 


BOYHOOD 


43 


years  ripened  into  a  friendship  which  has  never 
had  a  break  or  any  misunderstanding;  and 
now,  a  day  or  two  after  the  anniversary  of  my 
eighty-sixth  year,  and  a  week  or  two  before  the 
anniversary  of  his  eightieth  year,  I  am  asked 
to  give  some  reminiscences  of  his  boyhood  days 
at  the  old  school  at  Pennington. 

"Soon  after  my  introduction  to  him  in  Dr. 
Crane's  office,  he  presented  himself  in  my  class 
in  Cyropaedia.  The  class  was  composed  of 
Charles  Stockton,  in  later  years  an  eminent 
dentist  in  Newark;  William  Zane,  afterwards 
a  member  of  the  New  Jersey  Conference; 
Albert  Slate,  subsequently  a  lawyer  of  Salem, 
New  Jersey;  B.  C.  Lippincott,  for  many  years 
a  member  of  the  New  Jersey  Conference; 
John  W.  Young  (in  those  days  familiarly 
called  Captain  Young,  he  having  been  com- 
mander of  a  canal  boat  on  the  Delaware  and 
Raritan  Canal),  aftei-ward  a  prominent  mem- 
ber of  the  Newark  Conference,  and  widely 
known  as  an  accurate  statistician  and  collabo- 
rator of  the  benevolences  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  throughout  the  connection; 
also  Solomon  Parsons,  long  a  prominent  mem- 
ber of  the  Newark  Conference,  and  a  deserving 
nominee  for  Congress  of  the  Prohibition 
Party. 


44    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


"Where  young  Buckley  had  picked  up  his 
knowledge  of  the  Greek  language  I  do  not 
know,  but  I  soon  discerned  that  he  was  not  only 
well  drilled  in  the  language  and  a  ready  trans- 
lator of  the  text,  but  a  most  intelligent  com- 
menter  upon  the  author  and  the  history  of  the 
times  of  the  book.  While  these  qualifications 
would  have  easily  put  him  at  the  head  of  his 
class,  unfortunately  his  unequal  habits  of  study 
greatly  reduced  his  standing.  For  several 
days  together  he  would  appear  in  class  and 
completely  outdo  all  others.  Then  again  for 
an  equally  long  time  he  would  not  appear  at 
all,  and  thus,  of  course,  would  lower  his  stand- 
ing by  daily  marks.  Nevertheless,  when  he  was 
present  he  showed  himself  complete  master  of 
that  portion  of  the  book  which  was  in  the  daily 
lesson.  This  unevenness  of  attendance  upon 
and  performance  of  his  school  work  was  a 
marked  characteristic  of  his  whole  course  at 
Pennington  Seminary. 

"One  of  the  most  memorable  features  of  the 
career  of  young  Buckley  at  Pennington  was 
his  activity  and  influence  in  the  Alpha  Omega 
Society,  of  which  he  soon  became  a  member. 
In  those  days  the  weekly  meetings  of  the  so- 
ciety became  the  scenes  of  high  debates,  and  no 
little  of  the  skill  which  in  after  years  made  this 


BOYHOOD 


45 


man  a  head  master  in  that  art,  both  in  the 
Annual  and  General  Conferences  of  which  he 
was  a  member,  was  acquired  in  these  contests. 
A  notable  feature  of  these  debates  was  the 
readiness  with  which  he  would  change  sides  on 
any  question,  and  outargue  and  overthrow  his 
opponents.  This  illustrates  the  abundance  of 
resources  and  the  readiness  and  skill  in  the  use 
of  them,  which  characterized  his  career  in  all 
the  after  life  of  this  great  debater. 

"An  incident  about  this  time  reveals  several 
characteristics  of  the  boy,  which  were  more 
fully  developed  in  his  later  life.  Among  the 
irregularities  of  his  daily  practice  was  that  of 
being  late  to  breakfast,  and  it  had  become  a 
repeated  cause  of  amusement  in  the  dining 
room  to  hear  the  heavy  heel  and  toe  movements 
coming  down  the  stairs  leading  to  the  dining 
room  door,  and  then  his  deliberate  entrance  as 
a  late  comer  to  breakfast.  I  concluded  that 
this  had  better  be  stopped,  and  so  one  morning 
after  the  blessing  was  asked,  I  stepped  to  the 
door  and  turned  the  key.  In  a  few  moments 
the  famiUar  clump,  clump,  clump,  was  heard 
and  all  eyes  and  ears  were  attentive.  Then 
came  the  trial  of  the  door  knob,  and,  after  an 
instant  of  silence,  the  same  clump,  clump, 
clump,  indicated  his  retirement  up  the  stairs. 


46    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


A  few  minutes  passed,  and  I  heard  a  sound  of 
merriment  from  the  lower  end  of  the  dining 
hall,  and  looking  down  I  saw  Master  Buckley, 
who  had  come  in  by  the  kitchen  door,  walking 
serenely  up  toward  his  seat  within  three  or  four 
chairs  of  the  head  of  the  table.  I  waited  until 
he  reached  his  chair,  then  arose  and  said  to  him, 
'Now,  Master  Buckley,  you  may  go  out  the 
way  you  came  in.'  He  looked  me  in  the  eye 
steadily,  and  without  a  word  of  remonstrance 
turned  to  the  right  about  and  went  out  the  back 
door.  He  was  afterward  asked  why  he  did  not 
stand  his  ground  and  take  his  chair.  His 
answer  was,  'I  didn't  like  the  look  of  his  eye.' 
Thus  early  in  his  career  were  illustrated  the 
ability  for  a  flank  movement  in  debate,  or  a 
maneuvering  and  equal  wisdom  in  discerning 
the  psychological  moment  for  retirement  in 
good  order.  It  can  easily  be  believed  that,  with 
the  eccentricities  and  originalities  thus  indi- 
cated, this  youth  kept  the  school,  including 
teachers  and  pupils,  in  lively  expectation  of 
something  to  happen,  or  in  equal  curiosity  to 
know  what  would  be  done  with  what  had  hap- 
pened. 

"I  shall  never  forget  springing  to  my  room 
at  the  head  of  the  stairs  to  inquire  into  an  up- 
roar. I  found  the  boy  coming  up,  bellowing  at 


BOYHOOD 


47 


the  top  of  his  voice,  and  a  very  stentorian  voice 
it  was  even  at  that  early  day,  and  the  explana- 
tion was  that  he  was  cultivating  his  vocal 
organs  by  what  he  called  the  "explosive 
method."  One  of  his  favorite  diversions  was 
to  gather  a  lot  of  fellows  at  the  front  stoop,  and 
set  them  stmits  in  jumping.  It  was  truly  re- 
markable how  with  his  long  body  and  relatively 
short  legs  he  could  beat  them  all  in  the  great 
jump.  This  he  never  did  in  too  large  measure 
at  once,  but  slowly  drew  them  along  inch  by 
inch.  At  each  successive  attempt  he  stood  by 
looking  on  with  great  equanimity  and  twin- 
kling eyes  at  their  failures. 

"The  same  superiority  which  marked  his 
athletic  achievements  in  the  sports  of  the  day 
was  manifested  in  his  intellectual  competitions 
with  his  fellow  students.  I  have  referred  to  his 
vigor,  versatility,  and  superiority  in  the  de- 
bates of  the  Alpha  Omega  Society.  But  when 
it  came  to  essay  writing  and  speech  making  on 
general  subjects  his  precocity  in  material  and 
method  was  equally  evident.  His  ordinary 
school  compositions  for  weekly  use  had  a  ma- 
turity of  thought  and  a  facility  of  expression 
which  not  infrequently  excited  a  suspicion  of 
plagiarism.  This,  however,  was  never  found  to 
be  the  fact.  It  is  a  somewhat  interesting  inci- 


48    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


dent  that  in  after  years,  when  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  New  Hampshire  Conference,  he 
preached  a  sermon  which  he  was  accused  of 
having  taken  from  a  work  of  Doctor  Olin. 
The  result  was  that  the  accuser  in  this  case, 
when  brought  to  book,  utterly  failed  to  sustain 
his  charge,  and  was  obliged  openly  to  confess 
his  mistake. 

"In  the  New  York  Christian  Advocate  of 
July  9, 1885,  in  an  editorial  notice  of  the  trans- 
fer of  the  writer  from  the  pastorate  to  the  prin- 
cipalship  of  the  Bordentown  Military  Insti- 
tute, Dr.  Buckley  made  the  following  state- 
ment :  'It  was  at  a  meeting  led  by  Mr.  Landon 
that  the  writer  attended  for  prayers,  and  in  his 
room  in  private  conversation,  that  he  was  en- 
abled to  learn  the  alphabet  of  the  new  life.'  It 
will  be  interesting  to  many  readers  to  learn 
some  particulars  of  this  history  which  have 
never  been  published.  Even  at  this  early  date 
young  Buckley  had  been  an  onmivorous  reader 
of  vast  numbers  of  skeptical  books,  such  as 
Thomas  Paine's  Age  of  Reason,  Voltaire's 
works,  and  many  others.  With  a  memory  of 
remarkable  retentiveness,  his  mind  was  a 
charged  battery  of  doubts  and  unbeliefs.  The 
writer  was  foohsh  enough  to  suppose  that  he 
could  outreason  this  youthful  skeptic,  and  con- 


BOYHOOD 


49 


vert  him  to  the  Christian  faith.  Many  long 
discussions  were  held  in  my  room  with  that  ob- 
ject in  view.  At  last  one  evening,  toward  mid- 
night, he  said  to  the  boy:  *We  are  making  no 
headway,  we  have  begun  the  wrong  way,  we 
must  go  to  headquarters.'  He  looked  up  to  me 
and  said,  *  Where's  that?'  and  I  answered, 
'God.'  He  said,  'When  and  where?'  I  said, 
'Here  and  now.'  He  said,  'How?'  I  said,  'By 
prayer,'  and  added:  'Let's  get  down  and  pray.' 
We  both  knelt  at  the  bedside,  I  at  the  foot,  he 
at  the  side,  with  our  faces  toward  each  other. 
I  prayed  first,  and  then  told  him  to  pray.  His 
prayer  was  a  plain  statement  of  the  facts  then 
present,  but  of  a  purely  intellectual  character 
without  a  shadow  of  emotion,  but  manifestly 
sincere  both  to  my  consciousness  and  his.  At 
the  close  of  his  prayer  we  both  opened  our 
eyes  and  looked  at  each  other.  He  said,  'Do 
you  know  how  this  seems  to  me?'  I  answered, 
'No.'  He  said,  putting  his  finger  on  the  bed- 
post that  was  between  us,  'It  seems  to  me 
that  we  might  just  as  well  have  been  talk- 
ing to  this  bedpost.'  I  said:  'I  don't  care  if 
it  does  so  seem  to  you.  You  know  better, 
for  you  have  at  least  one  article  of  faith, 
you  believe  in  a  God  who,  if  worthy  of  our 
slightest  respect,  now  sees  us  and  knows  and 


50    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


understands  us,  what  we  have  said  and  what 
we  mean;  and  if  you  are  conscious  of  your 
own  sincerity  you  must  beheve  that  something 
will  come  of  this,  and  this  you  will  know  in 
due  time.'  He  said,  'Is  that  all?'  I  said, 
'Yes,  for  the  present.'  He  said,  'Is  there  noth- 
ing else  that  I  am  to  do?'  I  said,  'Yes,  you 
would  better  come  to  the  class  meetings  as  a 
seeker  after  God,  and  I  have  only  one  advice 
at  present  to  give  you,  simply  tell  the  facts  as 
they  are  when  the  time  comes.'  And  so  we  ad- 
journed long  after  midnight.  When  the  next 
class  night  occurred,  Buckley  was  there,  and  so 
for  several  successive  weeks,  always  stating 
with  the  utmost  simplicity  that  he  was  a  seeker 
after  God.  His  literal  compliance  with  the 
advice  given  him,  to  tell  the  plain  facts  of  the 
case  as  they  existed  at  the  time,  on  one  occa- 
sion proved  a  surprise  to  us  all.  In  the  meet- 
ing I  came  to  him  with  the  accustomed  form  of 
questioning:  'Well,  Buckley,  how  have  you 
gotten  along  this  week?'  With  a  very  serious 
shake  of  the  head,  he  answered,  'Not  at  all  well, 
for  to-day  I  got  into  a  fight  with  P.  C  Sub- 
sequent inquiry  developed  the  facts  that  a  big 
bully  had  persisted  in  tyrannizing  over  the 
boy  until,  losing  his  patience,  he  bristled  up  and 
showed  fight.    Though  the  bully  was  consid- 


DR.  BUCKLEY  WHEN  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  NEW  HAMPSHIRE 
CONFERENCE 


BOYHOOD 


51 


erably  the  heavier,  the  boy,  by  agihty  and 
active  use  of  fists,  nails,  teeth,  and  feet,  over- 
came the  superior  weight  and  strength  of  his 
antagonist.  It  is  satisfactory  to  state  that 
thereafter  this  fellow  was  careful  to  let  Buck- 
ley diligently  alone.  It  may  be  well  enough  to 
state  that  as  class  leader  on  this  occasion,  the 
writer  made  a  reasonable  exposition  of  those 
passages  in  the  Scripture  which  indicate  that 
the  Christian  is  bound  to  live  peaceably  with 
all  men  only,  *as  far  as  in  him  lies.'  This  doc- 
trine, then  full  of  comfort  to  the  youthful 
fighter,  was  long  after  very  fully  remembered 
and  practiced  when  he  became  a  defender  of 
the  faith  in  the  Church,  and  an  uncompromis- 
ing advocate  of  righteousness  in  the  politics 
of  the  nation." 

It  was  the  custom  of  Mr.  Buckley  in  his 
later  years  at  Pennington  to  teach  school  in  the 
winter  season.  He  taught  a  winter  school  also 
in  each  of  his  two  college  years.  At  one  of 
these  schools  he  laid  down  twenty  rules  which 
were  to  be  obeyed,  punishment  to  be  adminis- 
tered to  the  boy,  however  big  he  might  be,  who 
should  infringe  them.  One  of  the  boys,  seven- 
teen, and  much  larger  than  the  teacher,  decided 
to  disobey,  and  to  see  what  would  happen.  He 


52    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


placed  a  dead  cat  on  the  steps  where  all  the 
children  must  pass.  It  frightened  the  girls, 
and  created  both  excitement  and  amusement 
for  the  school  in  general.  The  next  morning 
the  teacher  came  prepared  to  carry  out  his 
threatened  punishment,  though  he  was  not 
without  decided  qualms  as  to  his  ability  to  do 
so  if  the  large  boy  should  show  fight.  He  said 
to  the  boy:  "Do  you  think  a  school  can  be  kept 
up  if  the  teacher  is  not  obeyed?  I  have  got  to 
whip  you  or  else  I  might  as  well  give  up  my 
position  as  teacher  in  this  school.  You  did  a 
mean  thing  to  bring  that  dead  cat  into  school  to 
frighten  the  little  children.  Now  you  have  to 
take  the  whipping  or  leave  school.  Which  will 
you  do?" 

The  boy  said  he  would  take  the  whipping, 
which  he  did ;  but  the  teacher  found  it  necessary 
to  smite  with  muscular  strength,  as  the  boy  had 
fortified  himself  for  attack  by  putting  folded 
newspapers  and  his  geography  at  well-cal- 
culated points  of  attack.  Later,  as  the  teacher 
had  taken  a  usual  walk  several  miles  out  of 
town,  he  found  this  boy  at  a  certain  point 
awaiting  him.  His  first  thought  was  that  the 
boy  was  there  to  take  his  revenge.  But  not  so. 
The  boy  said:  "You  did  exactly  right.  I  want 
to  stay  in  school  and  learn."   Years  afterward 


BOYHOOD 


53 


the  former  teacher  learned  that  this  same  boy 
was  doing  well  in  business  and  was  proving  a 
useful  citizen. 

In  submitting  this  chapter  of  boyhood  inci- 
dents, I  do  it  in  the  confidence  that,  while  it 
may  not  be  intrinsically  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant sections  of  the  narrative,  it  will  for  the 
larger  number  of  readers  assert  itself  as  one  of 
the  most  interesting  and  enjoyable  chapters  of 
the  book.  As  the  sources  of  a  river  indicate  the 
character  of  its  waters,  so  any  life  Providen- 
tially designated  for  exceptional  usefulness  and 
honor  is  well  typified  by  the  tempers  and  inci- 
dents of  its  earlier  years.  The  real  student  of 
life  is  instinctively  interested  to  know  the 
sources  whence  spring  unusual  results,  as 
manifest  either  in  character  or  in  deeds. 


CHAPTER  III 


PREACHER  AND  PASTOR 

When  young  Buckley  entered  Wesleyan 
University,  in  1856,  it  was  his  purpose  finally 
to  become  a  member  of  the  legal  profession. 
He  had  already  given  considerable  attention  to 
law,  having  read  several  selected  and  recom- 
mended lawbooks.  Both  his  native  endow- 
ments and  acquired  tastes  would  indicate  the 
possibilities  of  a  distinguished  career  in  this 
profession.  Indeed,  throughout  his  subse- 
quent life  the  judgment  was  often  expressed 
that,  however  eminent  his  achievements  as  a 
minister,  by  the  very  fact  of  his  becoming  a 
preacher  a  great  light  was  withheld  from  the 
legal  world.  Even  after  his  entrance  into  the 
ministry  efforts  were  made  to  turn  him  aside 
to  the  profession  of  law.  The  head  of  a  promi- 
nent law  firm  in  New  York  city  said,  "When 
Dr.  Buckley  was  a  young  minister,  I  offered 
him  three  thousand  dollars  a  year  if  he  would 
begin  the  study  of  law  in  our  office,  and  I  told 
him  that  when  he  had  completed  his  course  we 

would  take  him  into  the  firm,  and  that  ever 

64 


PREACHER  AND  PASTOR  55 


after  he  would  have  an  income  that  would 
stagger  the  minds  of  most  Methodist  preach- 
ers." To  the  question,  *'Why  did  you  offer 
Dr.  Buckley  three  thousand  a  year  to  begin  the 
study  of  law?"  he  said,  "In  ten  years  it  would 
be  worth  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year 
to  my  firm  to  have  Dr.  Buckley  a  pleader  in  the 
courts  of  the  State  and  of  the  nation."  There 
is  no  record  in  proof  that  Dr.  Buckley  himself 
ever  regretted  the  decision  which  was  to  give 
him  a  life-long  place  in  the  Methodist  ministry. 

At  the  time  of  his  matriculation  in  the  uni- 
versity he  had  been  a  member  of  the  Church 
for  about  two  years,  though,  as  he  himself  de- 
clares, he  "was  in  a  very  indifferent  state  of 
mind,  filled  with  skeptical  questionings,  to 
which  he  had  lent  a  willing  ear,  and  which  were 
increased  by  very  free  and  outspoken  utter- 
ance." 

He  participated  in  the  exciting  Presidential 
campaign  of  1856,  stumping  for  Fremont,  and 
immediately  at  the  close  of  this  campaign,  in 
order  to  supplement  his  income,  he  entered 
upon  the  work  of  teaching  a  district  school  in 
Connecticut.  There  being  no  church  in  the 
town  where  he  taught,  he  was  invited  to  speak 
three  times  on  the  subject  of  rehgion,  he  com- 
plying with  this  invitation.    He  himself  char- 


56    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


acterizes  these  addresses  as  follows:  "They 
were  principally  moralizing  talks  which  did  not 
imply  any  particular  spiritual  hfe  on  my  part." 
He  says:  "During  the  same  season  I  was  twice 
invited  by  pastors  to  fill  their  pulpits,  in  their 
absence,  and  delivered  sermons  which  may  have 
been  correct  in  doctrine,  but  did  not  imply  any 
special  religious  life  on  my  part,  and  I  fear 
were  not  adapted  to  create  any  in  the  minds  of 
the  hearers."  In  these  very  days,  however,  as 
he  himself  confesses,  a  vague  notion  passed 
through  his  mind  that  he  might  some  day  be- 
come a  minister.  He  did  not  attribute  to  this 
impression  any  moral  force,  but  thought  it 
might  have  arisen  purely  from  the  congratu- 
latory remarks  which  his  religious  addresses 
had  called  forth. 

The  experience  which  finally  decided  his  en- 
trance into  the  Christian  ministry  occurred  in 
the  winter  of  1858,  when,  in  another  commu- 
nity, he  was  again  teaching  school.  In  this 
winter  he  participated  in  what  proved  to  be  a 
notable  debate  with  an  Adventist,  a  Dr.  J.  C. 
Howell,  of  Boston,  upon  the  subject  of  the 
"Immortality  of  the  Soul."  This  debate  awak- 
ened intense  interest  throughout  the  commu- 
nity, and  is  still  vividly  remembered  by  the 
older   inhabitants.     The   effect   upon  Mr. 


PREACHER  AND  PASTOR  57 


Buckley  himself  was  most  marked.  His  studies 
had  begotten  within  him  thoroughly  and  in- 
tensely the  conviction  of  the  soul's  immortality. 
This  conviction  gave  him  a  vitally  different 
view  of  life  from  that  which  he  had  previously 
entertained. 

In  close  connection  with  these  events  an 
extraordinary  religious  awakening  under  the 
leadership  of  A.  V.  R.  Abbott  occurred  which 
powerfully  influenced  the  entire  community, 
and  extended  into  wide  surroundings.  In  this 
revival  he  participated  to  the  great  quickening 
and  strengthening  of  his  own  religious  life. 
His  health  was  now  much  impaired.  He  was 
seriously  invaded  by  pulmonary  symptoms, 
and  it  was  felt  by  his  close  and  most  sym- 
pathetic observers  that  he  had  but  a  little  time 
to  live.  He  became  convincingly  impressed 
that  it  was  his  duty  to  enter  the  Christian  min- 
istry, that  he  might  spend  such  time  as  re- 
mained to  him  in  the  endeavor  to  save  young 
men  from  infidelity.  He  therefore  decided  not 
to  return  to  college,  but  to  enter  the  ministry 
forthwith. 

Through  an  introduction  by  an  American 
Wesleyan  Methodist  minister,  he  became  en- 
gaged to  serve  for  one  year  a  small  church  of 
this  denomination  in  Exeter,  New  Hampshire. 


58    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


This  society  had  been  for  some  time  without  a 
pastor,  and  was  composed  of  only  forty-eight 
members,  all  of  whom  save  fom*  were  women. 
The  pastor  had  to  be  minister,  chorister,  class- 
leader,  assistant  treasurer — filhng  nearly  every 
office  except  that  of  sexton.  Exeter  is  the  seat 
of  the  famous  Phillips  Academy,  where  such 
New  Englanders  as  Daniel  Webster,  Wendell 
Phillips,  Rufus  Choate,  George  Bancroft,  and 
many  others,  had  fitted  for  college.  About  one 
hundred  and  fifty  students  were  in  the  Acad- 
emy when  young  Buckley  entered  upon  this 
pastorate. 

Beginning  with  small  congregations,  the 
church  gradually  filled  up,  many  of  the  stu- 
dents and  principal  citizens  regularly  attend- 
ing the  services.  Thus  the  young  preacher, 
still  only  a  layman,  received  encouraging  as- 
surance of  favor  with  the  people.  In  the 
course  of  this  year  he  received  an  invitation  to 
become  pastor  of  a  Congregational  church. 
But  after  having  preached  several  weeks  to  this 
congregation,  and  having  made  a  careful  study 
of  the  then  accepted  doctrines  and  polity  of  the 
Congregational  churches,  he  concluded  that 
Methodism  could  furnish  for  him  the  more  con- 
genial and  fitting  field  of  labor. 

His  decision  to  apply  for  admission  into  the 


PREACHER  AND  PASTOR  59 


ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
was  doubtless  largely  influenced  by  Dr.  Eras- 
tus  O.  Haven,  then  editor  of  Zion's  Herald, 
who  seriously  persuaded  him  that  he  ought  to 
be  a  minister  in  the  Church  of  his  father.  He 
took  his  church  letter  which  he  had  received 
from  Middletown,  Connecticut,  to  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  in  New  Market,  New 
Hampshire,  where  he  was  received,  licensed  to 
preach,  and  recommended  to  the  Annual  Con- 
ference, all  in  one  evening.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  New  Hampshire  Annual  Conference, 
holding  its  session  in  Portsmouth,  in  the  spring 
of  1859.  Much  to  his  own  surprise,  he  was 
appointed  to  Dover,  one  of  the  largest  churches 
in  the  State.  In  this  church,  finding  great 
favor  with  the  people,  especially  with  the 
maturer  minds  of  the  conmiunity,  he  remained 
two  years,  which  was  then  the  limit. 

He  was  next  appointed  to  a  large  church  in 
the  city  of  Manchester.  Here  he  inherited  dif- 
ficulties growing  out  of  discordant  conditions 
in  the  congregation,  which  resulted  during  his 
first  year  in  several  church  trials.  By  a  wise 
course  of  personal  conduct,  however,  by  a  firm 
and  calm  adherence  to  his  Christian  convic- 
tions, and  by  zealous  fidelity  to  his  ministerial 
duties  in  pulpit  and  parish,  he  won  favor  from 


60    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


the  people,  and  the  purification  and  restoration 
of  his  church. 

It  was  within  this  period  that  consumption 
was  quite  generally  supposed  to  be  doing  its 
fatal  work  with  the  pastor.  His  presiding 
elder  besought  him,  with  all  gentleness,  to  go 
home  that  he  might  receive  the  attention  which 
only  a  mother's  love  could  bestow  upon  "a  sick 
and  dying  son."  The  young  pastor  declined  to 
follow  this  advice,  and  further  determined  not 
to  die.  This  same  presiding  elder  and  Dr. 
Buckley,  both  members,  greeted  each  other  in 
the  General  Conference  which  met  in  the  city 
of  Brooklyn,  in  1872. 

At  the  end  of  his  second  year  in  Manchester, 
in  the  spring  of  1863,  Mr.  Buckley  went  to 
Europe,  returning  in  the  late  autumn  appar- 
ently, for  the  first  time  in  seven  years,  well. 
At  this  time  Bishop  Janes  offered  him  an  ap- 
pointment in  California  with  a  salary  of 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars  gold,  and  all  trav- 
eling expenses  across  the  continent  to  be  paid. 
His  decision  to  decline  this  offer  was  in  defer- 
ence to  his  mother's  wishes.  She  said:  "It  is 
not  a  mission  work.  I  can  see  no  reason  why 
a  widowed  mother  should  be  separated  from 
her  son  by  so  many  thousands  of  miles."  A 
little  later  Bishop  Simpson  appointed  him  to 


PREACHER  AND  PASTOR  61 


Detroit,  where  he  entered  upon  one  of  the  most 
historic  pastorates  in  Michigan  Methodism. 
It  was  during  this  pastorate  that  the  famous 
"Central  Methodist  Episcopal  Church"  of  De- 
troit was  undertaken.  This  edifice  certainly 
at  the  time  of  its  completion  worthily  ranked 
as  one  of  the  best-appointed  houses  of  worship 
in  American  Protestantism.  All  of  gray  gran- 
ite, of  cathedral  proportions,  beautifully  lo- 
cated, with  a  capacity  of  twelve  hundred  sit- 
tings in  its  auditorium,  with  superior  accom- 
paniments for  the  Sunday  school  and  social 
worship  and  life  of  the  congregation,  this 
church  not  only  gives  conspicuous  testimony 
to  the  strength  and  popularity  of  the  pastor 
under  whose  supervision  it  was  constructed, 
but  it  stands  as  a  distinguishing  landmark  in 
the  progress  of  American  Methodism. 

In  the  spring  of  1866  Mr.  Buckley  was 
transferred  to  the  New  York  East  Conference, 
and  was  stationed  at  the  Summerfield  Church, 
in  the  city  of  Brooklyn.  For  the  ensuing  four- 
teen years  his  pastorates  alternated  between 
Brooklyn  and  Stamford,  Connecticut.  He 
served  both  the  Summerfield  and  Stamford 
churches  two  full  terms  of  three  years  each, 
and  was  then  appointed,  in  the  spring  of  1878, 
to  Hanson  Place  Church,  from  which  pastor- 


62    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


ate  he  was  elected  by  the  General  Conference 
of  1880  to  the  editorship  of  The  Christian  Ad- 
vocate. Prior  to  his  appointment  to  the  latter 
church  he  received  the  unusual  honor  of  an 
invitation  to  a  third  pastorate  in  the  Summer- 
field  Church. 

The  foregoing  gives  a  summary  of  Dr. 
Buckley's  distinctive  pastoral  appointments. 
While  performing  editorial  duties  he  served 
with  marked  favor  as  the  acting  and  first 
pastor  of  the  Madison  Avenue  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  New  York  city.  This 
society,  effectively  and  influentially  organized, 
he  passed  over  to  Dr.  O.  H.  Tiffany  in  the 
spring  of  1883. 

Dr.  Buckley  had  now  won  a  national  reputa- 
tion as  a  pulpit  orator.  However  laborious 
and  exacting  his  duties  in  other  relations,  he 
could  not  escape  numerous  demands  for  his 
services  as  a  preacher  on  distinctive  occasions. 
His  sermons  preached  before  universities,  theo- 
logical schools,  synods.  Conferences,  and  on 
dedicatory  occasions  are  phenomenally  nu- 
merous. It  seems  nothing  less  than  a  marvel 
that,  in  addition  to  other  and  high  duties,  he 
could  command  both  the  strength  and  produc- 
tiveness for  the  large  number  and  variety  of 
occasions  in  which  he  appeared  as  the  chosen 


DR.  BUCKLEY  WHEN  ELECTED  EDITOR  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE 


PREACHER  AND  PASTOR  63 


preacher.  In  the  distinguished  sphere  of  spe- 
cial and  great  occasions  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  any  other  American  minister  has  been 
called  upon  so  often  to  respond  to  exceptional 
and  critical  demand. 

It  is  abundantly  evident  that  Doctor  Buck- 
ley had  excelling  qualities  as  a  preacher.  In  a 
most  exceptional  measure,  he  was  in  possession 
of  wide  knowledge.  An  omnivorous  reader, 
his  memory  was  encyclopaedic.  He  seemed  to 
have  the  rare  faculty  of  commanding  instantly 
for  use  any  fact  which  had  ever  come  into  the 
field  of  his  attention.  I  once  heard  him  say 
that  if  the  English  Bible  were  destroyed,  he 
could  himself  reliably  restore  two  thirds  of  it 
from  memory.  His  command  of  the  Bible  was 
no  more  wonderful  than  his  familiarity  with 
other  departments  of  literature  and  history. 
He  would  appear  to  know  the  theology,  the 
hymnody,  the  movements  and  the  personnel  of 
Methodist  history  with  alphabetical  familiar- 
ity. Thus  furnished,  he  could  not  fail  to  be 
always  an  instructive  preacher. 

His  voice,  all  things  considered,  was  remark- 
able. While  it  could  not  be  called  musical,  nor 
possessing  in  marked  measure  the  quality 
known  as  magnetic,  yet  in  reaching  capacity, 
in  wide  range  of  modulation,  it  was  an  instru- 


64    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


ment  wonderfully  trained  to  give  instant  re- 
sponse to  both  his  mood  and  purpose.  He  ac- 
quired the  art  of  easy  enunciation,  so  when 
speaking  to  the  largest  audiences  he  made  him- 
self distinctly  heard  without  appearance  of 
laborious  effort  or  undue  physical  strain.  On 
special  out-of-door  occasions,  as  when  speaking 
at  a  camp  meeting  or  before  Chautauqua  as- 
semblies, he  could  readily  make  himself  heard 
to  the  outermost  circles  of  great  crowds.  His 
voice,  which  might  well  be  called  "Buckleyan," 
proved  on  all  large  occasions  where  called  into 
requisition,  down  to  his  latest  years,  a  reliable 
and  powerful  reenforcement  to  his  effec- 
tiveness as  a  public  speaker.  This  is  all 
the  more  remarkable  when  it  is  remembered 
that  he  began  his  public  career  under  the  ban 
of  what  appeared  to  be  a  fatal  pulmonary 
impairment. 

In  his  pastoral  life  Dr.  Buckley  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  discuss  and  to  agitate  for  social  and 
moral  reforms  which  he  deemed  needful  for  the 
betterment  of  the  community  life.  During  one 
of  his  pastorates  in  Stamford  he  initiated  a 
no-license  campaign  which  was  conducted  with 
such  vigor  and  effectiveness  as  to  give  him 
instant  fame  as  being  one  of  the  most  powerful 
opponents  of  the  saloon  interests.   The  liquor 


PREACHER  AND  PASTOR  65 


interests  placed  him  under  arrest  on  a  trumped 
up  charge  of  "conspiracy,"  the  specific  offense 
alleged  being  that  he  had  hired  detectives  to  in- 
duce saloon  keepers  to  sell  liquor  at  a  time  when 
such  sale  was  unlawful.  During  this  agitation 
he  made  a  speech  to  a  great  throng  of  people  in 
the  old  town  hall  at  Stamford,  which  was  de- 
clared by  many  who  knew  him  well  to  be  "the 
most  eloquent  of  his  hfe."  Leading  members 
of  the  bar  both  in  Stamford  and  in  Norwalk 
were  employed  in  the  trial,  which  itself  proved 
to  be  one  of  the  biggest  temperance  rallies  ever 
held  in  the  town.  A  justice,  himself  a  liquor 
partisan,  held  the  court  upon  the  platform,  the 
hall  itself  being  crowded  "to  suffocation."  Dr. 
Buckley  "summed  up"  for  himself,  taking 
more  than  two  hours  for  his  speech  which  com- 
manded throughout  the  most  eager  attention. 
So  far  as  the  "justice"  was  concerned,  the  plea 
seemed  useless.  For  the  bulk  of  his  decision  he 
read,  without  giving  credit  for  it,  an  editorial 
from  a  New  Haven  paper,  and,  as  was  ex- 
pected, bound  the  minister  over  for  trial.  Dr. 
Buckley  was  never  brought  to  trial  in  the 
higher  court,  and  thus  was  lost  to  the  commu- 
nity a  great  occasion  for  furthering  the  inter- 
ests of  temperance.  As  a  result  of  this  cam- 
paign thousands  of  people  signed  the  pledge, 


66    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


and  a  no-license  majority  was  registered  at 
three  successive  elections. 

Robert  G.  IngersoU  once,  in  a  paragraph  of 
masterful  English,  pronounced  a  eulogy  upon 
some  old  whisky,  a  sample  of  which  he  sent  to 
a  friend.  Dr.  Buckley's  position  on  the  tem- 
perance question  is  well  announced  by  a  parody 
which  he  once  wrote  on  Ingersoll's  eulogy:  "I 
send  you  some  of  the  most  wonderful  whisky 
that  ever  brought  a  skeleton  into  the  closet  or 
painted  scenes  of  lust  and  bloodshed  in  the 
brain  of  man.  It  is  the  ghosts  of  wheat  and 
corn  crazed  by  the  loss  of  their  natural  bodies. 
In  it  you  find  a  transient  sunshine  chased  by  a 
shadow  as  cold  as  an  arctic  midnight  in  which 
the  breath  of  June  grows  icy,  and  the  carol  of 
the  lark  gives  place  to  the  foreboding  cry  of 
the  raven.  Drink  it,  and  you  shall  have  'woe,' 
'sorrow,'  'babbling,'  and  'wounds  without 
cause' ;  'your  eyes  shall  behold  strange  women,' 
and  'your  heart  shall  utter  perverse  things.' 
Drink  it  deep,  and  you  shall  hear  the  voices  of 
demons  shrieking,  women  wailing,  and  worse 
than  orphaned  children  mourning  the  loss  of  a 
father  who  yet  lives.  Drink  it  deep  and  long, 
and  serpents  will  hiss  in  your  ears,  coil  them- 
selves about  your  neck  and  seize  you  with  their 
fangs;  for  'at  last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent  and 


PREACHER  AND  PASTOR  67 


stingeth  like  an  adder.'  For  forty  years  this 
liquid  death  has  been  within  staves  of  oak, 
harmless  there  as  purest  water.  I  send  it  to 
you  that  you  may  'put  an  enemy  in  your  mouth 
to  steal  away  your  brains.'  And  yet  I  call  my- 
self your  friend." 

In  both  ideal,  conviction,  and  purpose  Dr. 
Buckley  was  always  a  serious  preacher.  He 
had  no  sympathy  with  sensational  methods  in 
the  pulpit.  In  all  his  announced  pulpit  teach- 
ing he  might  be  counted  a  model  of  conserv- 
ative orthodoxy.  Whatever  reserves  of  con- 
viction, if  any,  which  he  may  have  kept  within 
himself,  he  never  betrayed  as  a  denominational 
teacher  any  serious  departures  from  accepted 
Wesley  an  standards.  He  was  never  at  a  loss 
to  support  his  teaching  by  a  wealth  of  scrip- 
tural confirmation.  His  greatest  forte  was  not 
in  appeal  to  the  emotions.  He  was  preemi- 
nently a  persuader  of  the  will.  He  appealed 
for  action  from  the  standpoint  of  intelligent 
reason.  When  in  the  making  of  vital  moral 
decisions  intellect  and  will  are  in  accord,  the 
emotional  life  is  sure  to  be  stirred.  His  most 
effectual  approach  to  the  emotions  was  along 
the  path  of  high  intellectual  and  moral  persua- 
sions. 

One  of  the  greatest  editors  in  recent  journal- 


68    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


ism,  and  who  knew  Dr.  Buckley  intimately, 
while  confessing  that  it  is  not  easy  to  analyze 
his  power  as  a  preacher,  says  of  him:  "Elo- 
quent, in  the  sense  that  he  embellishes  his 
speech  with  opulent  rhetoric,  flights  of  fancy, 
captivating  periods,  warm  imagery,  he  is  not. 
That  profound  intellect  there  appears  in  its 
most  satisfying  guise,  still  arguing,  still  pre- 
senting proof,  still  enforcing  argument  with 
irresistible  logic,  still  seeking  to  convince  rather 
than  to  plead  and  persuade.  Dr.  Buckley 
could  not,  if  he  tried,  be  a  popular  preacher 
as  the  term  goes.  He  is  too  sincere,  too  much 
in  earnest  to  resort  to  efforts  to  tickle  the 
fancy.  He  has  a  message  to  bear,  and  he  sets 
about  it  in  a  way  that  will  carry  that  message 
with  the  greatest  force  and  power.  In  this 
effort  he  has  achieved  a  style  that  is  the  perfec- 
tion of  simplicity,  pure  and  chaste,  which  with 
his  lucidity  makes  dark  things  plain  to  the  himi- 
blest  intelligence,  while  he  holds  the  rapt  atten- 
tion of  the  learned  and  the  thoughtful.  Never, 
in  the  sense  that  Beecher,  or  the  recently 
mourned  Storrs  were,  is  he  an  orator.  Yet  he 
commands  and  sways  vast  audiences.  An 
humble  man  of  little  education  and  no  piety 
listened  to  him  within  a  year,  through  the  acci- 
dent of  a  funeral  ceremony  at  which  Dr.  Buck- 


PREACHER  AND  PASTOR  69 


ley  pronounced  the  address,  with  open-eyed 
interest,  and  said  at  the  end:  'If  I  heard  that 
man  many  times,  I'd  be  going  to  church  every 
Sunday.  He'd  make  me.  And  if  I  heard  him 
all  the  time,  I'd  believe  just  as  he  does.'  It 
was  an  unstudied  and  impulsive  tribute,  and  a 
revelation  of  the  personal  power  of  the  man."  ^ 

Dr.  Buckley  must  be  classed  as  a  profoundly 
spiritual  preacher.  He  has  the  high  ideals  of 
a  prophet  as  to  the  claims  of  spiritual  truth 
upon  life  and  conduct.  His  own  character  and 
example  are  entirely  compatible  with  the  lofty 
mission  of  one  whose  chief  concern  is  to  per- 
suade men  in  matters  of  eternal  moment.  In 
all  his  career  as  a  minister  his  life  has  been  ex- 
emplary, pure,  thoughtful,  a  well-nigh  fault- 
less model  of  Christian  living. 

Dr.  Buckley  has  been  styled  the  "Wit  of 
Methodism,"  the  "Rupert  of  Repartee."  His 
humor,  quick  and  keen,  always  lies  near  the 
surface.  His  observation  and  knowledge  of 
human  nature  are  unusual.  The  movement  of 
his  mind  is  lightning  swift.  His  perceptions 
are  incisive.  A  mind  of  this  type,  in  its  very 
nature,  could  not  habitually  exercise  itself  in 
the  pulpit  without  frequently  stirring  the  hu- 
morous sense  in  the  congregations.    But  this 

*  Doctor  St.  Clair  McKelway,  editor  of  the  Brooklyn  Eagle. 


70    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


movement  with  him  was  spontaneous  rather 
than  studied.  In  his  lecture  on  the  "Psychol- 
ogy of  Audiences"  he  has  expressed  his  own 
views  on  this  subject.  He  says :  "Any  minister 
who  will  try  to  make  men  laugh  for  laugh's 
sake  is  irreverent."  The  man  in  the  pulpit  who 
seeks  to  attract  attention  and  to  hold  his  audi- 
ences by  "absurd  gestures  and  stories"  he  char- 
acterizes as  a  "mountebank."  In  relation  to 
public  speaking  in  general,  he  says:  "An  orator 
should  never  trifle.  I  consider  that  he  does  so 
when  he  states  things  with  gross  exaggeration. 
I  do  not  object  in  a  temperance  lecture  to  any- 
thing which  will  make  the  people  laugh.  If  I 
were  a  lawyer  and  could  tell  a  story  which 
would  make  a  turn  upon  my  opponent  and 
would  make  the  jury  smile  at  him,  I  should  be 
very  likely  to  do  it.  But  when  the  matter  is 
serious,  as  in  a  religious  service,  no  man  should 
trifle  with  his  audience." 

His  sober  sense  of  the  character  of  his  call- 
ing, his  habitual  seriousness  of  purpose,  re- 
moved far  from  him  any  design  to  make  a 
major  use  of  humor  in  the  pulpit.  Neverthe- 
less, his  humor  was  too  rich  and  full  to  admit 
of  its  total  suppression,  even  in  the  pulpit.  The 
older  members  of  the  congregations  to  which 
he  formerly  ministered  still  retain  lively  re- 


PREACHER  AND  PASTOR  71 


membrances  of  what  they  would  call  his  "pul- 
pit witticisms."  One  of  these  says :  "He  had  a 
way  of  saying  things  which  was  so  original  that 
he  frequently  had  his  audiences  smiling.  What 
he  said  in  a  humorous  strain  seemed  to  come 
incidentally,  and  although  many  years  have 
gone  since  he  was  here,  his  preaching  made  a 
deep  impression  for  that  very  reason.  His 
manner  was  grave,  and  the  lesson  was  always 
the  important  thing."  An  "elect  lady"  of  a 
former  congregation  says:  "I  am  surprised  to 
read  that  he  of  all  men  is  opposed  to  humor  in 
the  pulpit.  Yet  he  was  such  a  many-sided  man 
that  we  never  thought  of  him  as  a  humorist. 
He  was  usually  so  earnest,  grave,  and  serious, 
that  his  witticisms  only  served  to  impress  upon 
us  the  telling  points  of  his  sermons." 

He  was  so  persuasive  in  his  preaching,  so 
sane  in  his  appeals  to  the  reason  and  judgment 
of  the  people,  and,  withal,  so  intent  upon  reach- 
ing the  souls  of  men,  that  his  ministry  was  at- 
tended  with  marked  religious  revivals.  Under 
the  nurture  of  his  ministry  and  example  his 
churches  were  soimdly  educated  in  the  elements 
of  Christian  truth  and  character.  His  entire 
ministry  was  promotive  of  healthy  ideals  and 
growth  in  the  spiritual  life.  He  excelled  as  a 
pastor.   Others  may  have  seemed  more  openly 


72    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


to  have  stressed  the  social  and  pastoral  side  of 
their  ministry;  but  he,  by  quiet,  methodical, 
and  persistent  attention  to  pastoral  duties,  won 
for  himself  a  large  and  lasting  place  in  the  love 
and  gratitude  of  the  sick,  the  poor,  and  the 
unprivileged  in  all  the  communities  which  he 
served.  He  was  courted  and  honored  by  the 
cultured  and  wealthy  members  of  his  congrega- 
tions, but  he  was  never  derehct  in  a  helpful 
pastoral  attention  to  the  humblest  people  in  his 
parishes,  and  he  found  his  rich  reward  not  only 
in  their  own  deep  gratitude,  but  in  the  con- 
scious approval  of  Him  w^ho  will  finally  say 
unto  him:  "Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  imto 
one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have 
done  it  unto  me.'* 

There  is  much  in  the  history  of  such  a  min- 
istry to  be  treasured  and  pondered  by  every 
new  generation  of  preachers.  There  is  no  more 
deadly  arraignment  of  the  materiahstic  moods 
of  the  times  than  is  seen  in  their  tendency  to 
dim  the  vision  of  the  age  to  the  divine  and 
supreme  import  of  the  preachers'  mission.  If 
there  be  any  possibilities  of  high  moral  values, 
of  prophetic  and  holy  hopes  for  the  world's 
future,  if  there  is  any  place  for  things  of  endur- 
ing worth,  for  heroic  ideals,  any  place  for  in- 
spirations to  unselfish  consecration  and  imcon- 


PREACHER  AND  PASTOR  73 


querable  achievements  for  human  betterment 
— then  with  these  things  and  their  kin  Hes  the 
legitimate  mission  of  the  preacher. 

If  a  given  preacher  is  dull,  narrow  in  vision, 
without  broad  intellectual  sympathies,  bigoted, 
indolent,  a  mental  slacker,  a  man  so  wanting  in 
consecration  as  not  to  command  the  admiration 
of  the  community  for  at  least  his  sincere  zeal — 
yet,  that  one  man  may  be  all  this  does  by  no 
means  prove  any  defect  in  the  true  and  divine 
ideals  of  the  preacher's  calling.  If  the  race  of 
prophets,  of  heroic  moral  idealists,  of  God's 
trumpet-tongued  messengers,  has  not  died  out 
of  the  world,  then,  it  is  to  such  as  these  that  the 
real  preacher  truly  belongs.  The  true  preacher 
is  called  upon,  is  under  most  exacting  bonds,  to 
live  in  the  clear  atmospheres  and  in  that  clearer 
vision  which  are  found  alone  on  the  higher 
levels  of  character  and  of  thought.  A  soul  thus 
envisaged  can  never  be  other  than  morally 
dynamic.  He  gives  proof  positive  that  men 
now  living  in  the  vision  of  God,  and  who  are 
divinely  commissioned  to  summon  the  world  to 
its  best  living,  still  form  a  part  in  an  undying 
succession.  Clean  lips  of  men  like  these  utter 
messages  in  which  the  world  recognizes  the 
voice  of  God.  These  are  the  elect  prophets  of 
the  race.  They  are  known  as  the  moral  heroes 


74    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


of  history.  They  have  hfted  on  high  the 
inspiring  standards  of  human  progress.  From 
a  far  past,  men  of  their  kind  have  uttered  mes- 
sages so  insouled  with  divine  authority  as  to 
have  outHved  the  material  civihzations,  kings, 
conquerors,  and  empires — messages  which  the 
passing  centuries  have  only  made  more  lumi- 
nous and  irresistible. 

The  inspired  prophet,  m  all  ages  and  in  all 
spheres,  has  been  the  emancipator  of  life. 
Under  his  summons  alone  the  race  has  aban- 
doned its  Egyptian  servitudes  for  pilgrimage 
toward  the  gateways  of  a  better  future.  If  in 
the  vision  of  the  race  there  lingers  the  lure  of 
a  golden  age  to  come,  this  vision  has  been 
kindled  alone  by  prophetic  inspirations.  The 
preacher's  true  vocation  and  kinships  belong 
here.  In  a  sense  distinctive,  uplifting,  royal, 
the  preacher's  calling,  in  its  obligations,  its 
opportunities,  its  inspirations,  and  in  the 
eternal  import  of  its  message,  is  the  divinest  of 
ordinations.  No  man  with  its  true  voice  in  his 
soul  can  carry  poor  ideals,  or  other  than  a 
whole-souled  consecration  into  his  work.  The 
world  to-day,  with  fever  at  its  brain,  and  a 
crazing  madness  at  its  heart,  needs  a  new  cru- 
sade of  prophetic  power.  No  world-age  more 
than  this  has  ever  needed  to  hear  and  to  heed 


PREACHER  AND  PASTOR  75 


the  voice  of  God's  prophet.  The  Christian 
ministry  ought  at  this  very  hour  to  instill  a 
campaign  of  moral  sanity,  so  potent,  so  irre- 
sistible, as  to  make  it  under  God  in  the  days 
that  are  right  upon  us  the  mightiest  redemp- 
tive force  of  human  history.  A  ministry  Christ- 
impassioned,  of  invincible  consecrations,  whose 
inspired  and  luminous  vision  shall  sweep  wide 
horizons  of  human  thought  and  need,  is  now  a 
supreme  need  of  the  times.  No  age  of  apostolic 
inspirations,  no  age  through  whose  persecuting 
flames  has  arisen  the  triumphant  testimony  of 
martyr  and  confessor,  no  age  made  illustrious 
by  heroic  leadership  of  reformer  or  message  of 
evangel,  has  needed  a  mightier,  a  more  inspired^ 
or  a  more  consecrated  ministry.  There  never 
was  an  age  when  to  be  a  fully  ordained,  and  a 
richly  equipped  Christian  minister  was  more 
needful,  more  morally  potential,  or  more  di- 
vinely honorable  than  to-day. 

The  ministerial  life  of  Doctor  Buckley  pre- 
sents many  suggestive  and  stimulating  lessons. 
He  decided  to  enter  the  ministry  only  upon  the 
basis  of  clear  and  mature  convictions.  He 
gave  himself  with  all  conscience  and  diligence 
to  the  duties  demanded  by  his  vocation.  He 
was  an  incessant  student.  His  mind  and  mem- 
ory were  not  only  saturated  with  the  Bible,  but 


76    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


he  literally  ransacked  all  fields  of  knowledge 
and  suggestion  for  the  enrichment  of  his  mind 
and  function  as  a  teacher.  He  had  firm  and 
sober  convictions  as  to  both  the  authority  and 
the  necessity  of  the  truth  which  he  felt  called 
upon  to  preach.  He  was  never  a  trifler,  never  a 
sensationalist,  never  sacrificing  the  ideal  mo- 
tives to  ends  of  self-ambition  or  self -ease.  He 
was  serious  as  a  man  who  felt  that  he  must  give 
account  of  himself  to  God.  Not  emotionally 
sentimental,  he  was  much  given  to  prayer.  He 
was  earnestly  desirous  on  the  basis  of  personal 
communion  to  know  the  mind  and  temper  of 
Christ.  He  had  such  a  sense  of  the  intrinsic 
worth  of  all  souls,  that  as  a  pastor  he  was 
scrupulously  systematic  and  industrious  in 
rendering  a  true  spiritual  ministry  to  all 
classes,  to  the  rich  and  the  poor,  to  the  socially 
privileged  and  unprivileged,  alike.  His  per- 
sonal character,  as  uniformly  evinced  in  con- 
versation and  conduct,  was  such  as  to  command 
for  him  widest  confidence  and  respect.  Rich  in 
knowledge,  devout  in  life,  noble  in  consecration, 
faithful  in  service,  he  so  fully  and  symmetri- 
cally filled  the  ideal  of  ministerial  usefulness  as 
to  prove  himself  a  workman  of  God,  needing 
not  to  be  ashamed.  His  pastoral  ministry  was 
continuously  and  exceptionally  fruitful. 


CHAPTER  IV 


FIGHT  FOR  LIFE 

At  the  time  of  this  writing  Dr.  James  M. 
Buckley  is  well  past  the  eightieth  anniversary 
of  his  birth.  It  may  be  said  that,  for  his  age,  he 
is  in  a  good  state  of  physical  health.  His 
capacity  as  a  pedestrian  is  such  as  to  put  many 
a  young  man  who  would  compete  with  him 
severely  upon  his  mettle.  Yet  it  is  probable 
that  relatively  few  men  now  living  have  been 
victors  in  a  more  critical  and  dubious  struggle 
against  pulmonary  attacks  than  is  true  of  him- 
self. In  view  of  his  own  extreme  experience, 
it  is  of  special  interest  to  know  his  views  as  to 
the  essential  heredity  of  pulmonary  consump- 
tion. 

At  about  the  age  of  twenty  he  made  appli- 
cation for  life  insurance.  This  colloquy  fol- 
lowed: 

"Is  your  father  living?  If  not,  of  what  dis- 
ease, and  at  what  age  did  he  die?" 

Answer:  "He  is  dead;  the  cause  of  death 
was  consumption;  his  age  thirty-seven." 

"Had  he  brothers  and  sisters?" 

77 


78    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


"One  brother." 

"Is  he  dead  or  hving?" 

"Dead." 

"At  what  age?" 

"Twenty-eight." 

"Of  what  disease?" 

"Consumption." 

"Of  what  disease  did  their  mother  die?" 
"Consumption,  aged  about  thirty-five." 
"And  their  father?" 

"Of  acute  lung  disease,  aged  forty-three." 

Thus  it  would  appear  that  the  entire  an- 
cestral line  had  been  swept  away  by  consump- 
tion, none  remaining  save  young  Buckley  and 
his  still  younger  brother.  Of  course,  the  appli- 
cation for  insurance  was  promptly  rejected. 

Surely,  if  a  crucial  test  is  to  be  sought,  none 
more  exacting  could  well  be  asked  for  as  to  the 
validity  of  the  theories  both  of  the  heredity  and 
incurable  character  of  consumption  than  is 
furnished  in  this  case.  He  expresses  his  own 
view  as  follows:  "Consumption  is  never  hered- 
itary in  such  a  sense  that  every  child,  or  even  a 
majority  of  the  children,  where  one  hne  is  con- 
sumptive must  die  of  it.  Nor  is  it  hereditary 
in  such  a  sense  that  all  children  when  both  lines 
were  victims  of  it  die  of  it,  or  that  none  of  them 
can  or  do  live  to  extreme  age."   He  also  pro- 


FIGHT  FOR  LIFE 


79 


ceeds  to  show  from  authoritative  records  that 
very  many  cases  of  consumption,  some  of  them 
far  gone,  have  been  restored  to  sound  health, 
and  their  subjects  have  Hved  to  normal  old 
age.  His  own,  certainly,  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting of  cases.  Always  of  slight  physical 
stature,  yet  as  a  boy  he  did  not  in  proportion 
to  his  weight  lack  in  strength,  activity,  or  en- 
durance. However,  when  at  boarding  school 
in  his  fourteenth  year,  he  was  attacked  by  acute 
bronchitis  and  was  brought  apparently  near  to 
death.  His  recovery  was  slow,  and  for  a  time 
he  was  subject  to  a  cough  and  shortness  of 
breath.  All  this  naturally  gave  rise  to  the  fear 
that  he  would  soon  go  in  the  way  of  his  father. 

The  practical  effect  of  this  condition  upon 
himself  did  not  seem  to  promote  the  caution  of 
self-care.  He  too  easily  accepted  for  himself 
the  view  of  a  "short  life  and  a  careless  one." 
He  failed  to  take  either  the  scientific  precau- 
tions or  the  care  which  his  condition  called  for. 
In  1856  he  moved  from  a  most  salubrious  cli- 
mate in  the  Middle  States  to  enter  upon  college 
life  at  Middletown,  Connecticut.  Here,  in 
partnership  with  several  of  his  fellow  students, 
he  undertook  the  "dangerous  experiment"  of 
boarding  himself.  The  average  expense  of 
each  student  in  this  self -boarding  company  was 


80    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


about  eighty  cents  per  week.  He  says,  "Of  the 
hardships  of  that  period,  the  irregularity,  the 
uncertain  condition  of  the  cooking,  a  volume 
might  be  written,  and  its  proper  title  would  be 
'The  Dyspeptic's  Carnival.'  " 

The  severer  climate  into  which  he  had  gone, 
together  with  his  manner  of  life,  served  to  de- 
velop "symptoms  of  pulmonary  and  gastric" 
disease.  As  has  been  indicated,  during  this  fall 
he  engaged  imprudently  in  a  Presidential  cam- 
paign, in  which  he  was  in  demand  as  a  brilliant 
young  stump  speaker.  Both  normal  sleep  and 
regular  habit  were  thus  seriously  interfered 
with.  In  the  ensuing  winter  he  taught  school 
in  a  community  where  popular  debates,  held  at 
far  and  near  points,  were  in  vogue.  In  these 
debates  he  was  a  popular  participant.  But  the 
excitements  and  irregularity  of  his  life  proved 
too  much  for  his  constitutional  resistance. 
"Hectic  fever,  cough,  shortness  of  breath,  and 
emaciation  came  on  apace."  Physicians  gave 
him  little  hope  that  he  could  long  survive.  His 
fellow  students  considered  him  "as  good  as 
dead."  In  the  spring  and  summer,  however, 
from  care  and  study  free,  by  taking  long  open- 
air  rambles  through  New  Jersey  and  Dela- 
ware, he  so  far  recovered  his  health  as  to  return 
to  college  in  the  following  autumn.  Winter 


FIGHT  FOR  LIFE  81 


found  him  again  teaching  school.  With  re- 
newed strain  and  excitements  upon  his  hfe, 
there  came  a  repetition  of  the  grave  symptoms 
of  the  previous  year.  But  the  return  of  these 
symptoms  of  this  year  was  made  doubly  fear- 
ful by  the  occurrence  of  hemorrhages. 

Within  this  winter,  as  previously  narrated, 
occurred  a  marked  revival  of  religion  in  which 
young  Buckley's  own  spiritual  life  was  greatly 
quickened.  Convinced  that  probably  he  had 
hardly  a  year  to  live,  he  determined  to  give 
such  time  as  might  remain  to  religious  work 
among  young  men.  "The  year  passed  away 
broken  with  attacks  of  illness,  including  hem- 
orrhages while  preaching,  and  many  other 
things  not  necessary  to  detail,  that,  in  the  opin- 
ion of  physicians,  pointed  unmistakably  to 
death."  In  a  period  of  temporary  betterment, 
however,  he  was  received  into  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Conference,  and  made  pastor  of  a  large 
church.  The  work  here  proved  so  exhausting 
as  to  seem  utterly  beyond  his  waning  vitality. 

In  his  own  narrative  of  this  period,  he  says : 
"From  1857  to  1859  I  was  more  or  less  under 
the  care  of  physicians  for  acute  affections  of 
the  lungs  and  bronchial  organs,  and  dyspepsia. 
From  early  autumn  to  late  spring  I  passed 
apparently  from  one  cold  to  another,  with  an 


82    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


interval  seldom  longer  than  a  week  between  the 
successive  attacks.  During  this  period  a  mor- 
bid fear  of  taking  cold  arose,  and  no  valetudi- 
narian of  eighty  years  of  age  ever  wore  more 
coats,  caps,  scarfs,  fur  capes  and  collars,  and 
overshoes.  Perhaps  in  the  severe  climate  of 
New  Hampshire  some  good  resulted  from  this, 
but  the  practice  was  extreme.  On  warm  winter 
days  perspiration  was  induced,  and  being 
caught  occasionally  without  the  fur  collar,  or 
allowing  the  air  to  strike  the  neck,  was  followed 
by  as  bad  a  cold  as  might  have  been  taken  with 
complete  exposure."  During  this  period  the 
constant  performance  of  pastoral  duties  only 
made  more  certain  both  his  exposure  to,  and  the 
aggravation  of,  physical  ills.  In  the  spring  of 
1860  the  betterment  of  his  conditions  usually 
occurring  at  this  season  did  not  take  place.  His 
hemorrhagic  condition  now  took  on  a  severe 
and  most  menacing  form.  The  closest  ob- 
servers felt  that  he  had  but  the  shortest  time  to 
live.  It  was  in  the  early  summer  following  this 
that  his  presiding  elder,  the  Rev.  Calvin  Hol- 
man,  made  the  suggestion  hitherto  referred  to 
— that  he  return  home  and  prepare  to  die. 

It  is  needless  to  detail  the  treatment  of  his 
case  as  prescribed  by  physicians.  Following 
suggestions  received  from  his  reading,  he  be- 


FIGHT  FOR  LIFE  83 


came  his  own  physician.  Careful  to  gauge  his 
exercise  by  the  measure  of  his  strength,  he  be- 
gan a  systematic  exercise  of  out-of-door  walk- 
ing and  deep -breathing.  The  deep -breathing 
exercise  was  greatly  facilitated  by  the  use  of 
the  "inhaling  tube,"  an  instrument  described 
as  follows:  "The  tube  is  so  constructed  as  to 
admit  the  air  without  difficulty,  but  to  obstruct 
its  expiration.  It  is  not  a  blowing,  but  a 
breathing  machine,  designed  to  restore  and 
maintain  the  habit  of  full  inspiration  and  ex- 
piration of  air.  By  its  use  all  the  muscles 
naturally  employed  in  respiration  are  brought 
into  play.  It  is  impossible  to  use  it  without 
detaining  the  air  in  the  lungs  a  considerable 
time,  and  breathing  deeply.  Every  cell, 
whether  diminished  in  capacity  by  the  presence 
of  tubercle  or  not,  is  thrown  open  and  the  blood 
arterialized."  He  further  makes  this  notable 
statement:  "To  the  use  of  the  tube,  the  amount 
of  time  spent  in  walking  and  riding  in  the  open 
air,  and  the  observance  of  certain  additional 
hygienic  methods,  together  with  the  determi- 
nation not  to  die,  I  owe  my  recovery." 

He  soon  found  that  systematic  exercise  m 
the  open  air  resulted  in  increasing  strength  and 
tone,  until  he  was  able  to  average  about  four 
hours  a  day  out  of  doors,  the  tube  being  used 


84    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


three  times  for  about  one  half  hour  each  time. 
It  was  in  these  days  that  he  estabhshed  the 
habit,  which  he  maintained  for  several  years,  of 
taking  in  the  summer  a  pedestrian  tour  of  from 
three  to  six  weeks'  duration,  and  averaging  a 
daily  walk  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  miles. 
From  the  beginning  of  his  out-of-door  course  a 
somewhat  prolonged  period  elapsed  before  he 
experienced  decided  benefit.  He  says : 

"In  1861  no  marked  improvement  was  seen. 
In  1862  progress  became  more  visible;  and  in 
1863,  while  in  Europe  chmbing  the  Alps,  the 
last  vestige  of  the  disease,  as  was  supposed,  dis- 
appeared. As  a  result  of  continued  exercise, 
shortness  of  breath  gave  place  to  a  rather  more 
than  average  lung  capacity  in  actual  use." 

"Attention  to  health  and  to  health  rules  con- 
siderably diminished;  and  in  1868,  at  the  close 
of  a  long  pedestrian  tour,  a  violent  cold  was 
taken  by  undue  exposure,  which  brought  on  an 
attack  which  in  course  of  six  weeks  became 
alarming.  A  physician  was  consulted,  whose 
prescriptions  were  faithfully  followed  without 
material  improvement.  At  the  end  of  two 
months,  assuming  that  what  had  wrought  a 
cure  before  might  do  it  again,  the  regular  use 
of  the  tube  and  systematic  exercise  in  the  open 
air  were  undertaken,  and  in  about  five  weeks 


FIGHT  FOR  LIFE  85 


the  portentous  symptoms  disappeared,  and 
from  then  till  now  not  one  indication  of  a 
tendency  to  pulmonary  disease  has  been  seen." 

Reckoning  from  the  present  time,  this  was 
now  nearly  forty-nine  years  ago.  It  is  con- 
servative to  say  that  within  these  forty-nine 
years  a  life-work  of  prodigious  and  varied  ac- 
tivity, and  of  unmeasured  fruitfulness,  has 
been  achieved.  When  the  physical  background 
of  these  years  is  taken  into  account,  the  subse- 
quent life  history  seems  nothing  less  than  mar- 
velous. That  any  man  from  a  health  foun- 
dation so  apparently  bankrupt  and  hopeless 
could  build  himself  into  the  status  of  a  phys- 
ical, intellectual,  and  moral  athlete,  fortifying 
himself  with  the  sustained  strength  and  pur- 
pose which  through  nearly  a  half  century  have 
ranked  him  among  the  foremost  workers  of  the 
age — all  this  must  certainly  compel  from  us 
highest  tribute  to  the  power  of  an  invincible 
will  when  practically  coupled  with  intelligent 
and  ceaseless  self -discipline. 

Out  of  this  history  springs  a  lesson  which 
should  be  of  far-reaching  practical  value  to 
a  multitude  of  young  lives  now  menaced  with 
pulmonary  disease.  To  the  mental  worker 
especially  the  lessons  of  this  history  should 
prove  invaluable.   Dr.  Buckley  early  learned 


86    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


that  the  fountain  of  heahng  and  of  health  hes 
somewhere  out  of  doors.  He  has  been  through 
all  his  Ufe  a  phenomenal  walker.  During  his 
long  editorial  career  it  was  his  frequent  custom 
to  leave  his  home-bound  train  at  points  several 
miles  distant  from  Morristown  and  thence 
walk  to  his  home.  As  has  been  stated,  his 
summer  vacations  took  on  largely  the  character 
of  pedestrian  tours.  In  these  periods  of  nom- 
inal rest  he  would  aggregate  walks  of  many 
hundreds  of  miles.  His  pedestrian  habits  are 
well  illustrated  in  his  booklet  entitled  Two 
Weeks  in  the  Yosemite.  From  this  publica- 
tion I  venture  to  quote  somewhat  at  length. 

"On  any  roads,  for  a  month  or  six  weeks, 
pedestrians  can  be  found  who  can  travel 
farther  and  end  the  journey  in  better  condition 
than  any  horses,  though  the  endurance  of  the 
mule  defies  all  competition  except  that  of  the 
camel  and  the  dromedary."  Before  taking  his 
final  leave  of  the  Yosemite,  Dr.  Buckley  de- 
sired to  explore  some  of  the  more  difficult 
canons  on  foot.  The  description  of  his  subse- 
quent experiences  in  the  adjacent  mountains 
is  so  vividly  interesting  as  to  justify  its  repro- 
duction in  considerable  part.  Having  appar- 
ently sought  in  vain  for  some  traveling  tourist 
who  would  share  his  adventures,  and  just  about 


FIGHT  FOR  LIFE  87 


as  he  had  decided  to  employ  a  special  guide,  it 
was  said  to  him:  "There  is  a  Scotch  gentleman 
in  the  office  whom  you  ought  to  see.  He  says 
he  has  been  here  three  weeks,  and  has  walked 
through  the  whole  region,  and  if  he  could  find 
a  companion  whose  wind  and  limbs  were  good, 
he  would  stay  a  week  longer."  On  introduc- 
tion, the  Scotchman,  surveying  him  with  suspi- 
cious criticism,  said,  "How  long  can  you 
walk?"  To  this  challenge  the  Doctor  replied, 
"Eighteen  hours  without  food  or  drink."  The 
Scotchman  rose  instantly  and  said,  "We  will 
ascend  the  North  Dome  to-day."  Buckley,  in 
description  of  his  own  sensations  just  then, 
says:  "The  rain  in  the  valley  had  been  snow  in 
the  mountains,  and  I  had  not  walked  much 
since  the  preceding  simimer ;  but  there  was  no 
room  to  hesitate.  Though  it  was  more  than 
twenty  miles,  some  of  it  of  terrible  climbing,  I 
could  not  show  the  white  feather." 

"At  eight  we  started,  crossed  the  Valley,  and 
just  beyond  the  Yosemite  Falls  entered  the 
Indian  Canon.  For  a  little  while  we  talked; 
but  when  the  climbing  grew  difficult  we  needed 
all  our  breath,  and  hours  passed  away  in 
silence.  No  proposition  of  rest  was  made  by 
my  companion;  I  would  not  cry,  'Hold! 
enough.'   At  last,  after  about  four  hours,  we 


88    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


met  a  noted  photographer,  accompanied  by  his 
assistant.  They  told  us  that  the  summit  was 
covered  with  snow,  and  enveloped  in  vapors, 
and  advised  us  to  turn  back;  but  that  would 
not  do,  for  neither  of  us  could  in  honor  pro- 
pose it.  On  we  went,  waded  through  the  snow, 
and  reached  a  point  nearly  a  thousand  feet 
higher  than  the  North  Dome  and  a  mile  to  the 
north  of  it.  But  from  that  point  to  our  desti- 
nation we  walked  on  a  magnificent  granite 
causeway,  sometimes  with  hundreds  of  yards 
with  scarce  a  seam.  At  three  o'clock  we  were 
on  the  Dome;  beneath  were  the  Tenayo  Fork 
and  Mirror  Lake;  opposite,  seeming  near 
enough  to  touch,  stupendous  Half  Dome;  to 
the  east,  the  Sentinel  Dome,  and  beyond,  the 
Sentinel  Rock,  while  in  different  directions  we 
saw  the  various  groups  of  high  Sierras,  from 
ten  to  fourteen  thousand  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.  .  .  . 

"The  next  morning,  after  requesting  our  ac- 
commodating landlord  to  keep  our  rooms  for 
us,  as  we  should  not  return  for  some  days,  we 
walked  to  Mirror  Lake.  This  little  lake  de- 
rives its  deserved  celebrity  from  the  sublime 
scenery  surrounding  it,  and  which  is  reflected 
from  its  placid  bosom;  and  as  the  scenery  is 
grander  than  that  which  surrounds  other  lakes, 


FIGHT  FOR  LIFE  89 


the  reflection  is  more  beautiful.  My  friend,  the 
Scotchman,  whose  name  is  Maxwell,  said  that 
there  were  good  fish  there,  and  he  would  catch 
some.  While  he  did  so  I  slept,  hoping  to  fully 
recover  from  the  fatigue  of  the  previous  day, 
which  for  a  ^breaking  in'  was  rather  severe. 
The  fish,  when  caught  and  cooked  by  a  man 
who  had  a  saloon  there,  were  eaten,  but  they 
had  a  peculiar  effect  on  us  both.  We  became 
very  sick,  and  concluded  that  the  cook  had  used 
two  pounds  of  grease  for  one  of  fish.  Return- 
ing, we  crossed  the  Merced  River  on  a  log,  and 
began  to  ascend  toward  the  Vernal  Fall.  In 
every  direction  the  scenery  was  grand,  but 
when  we  reached  the  Fall  itself  we  were  more 
than  delighted  with  its  beauty.  Three  times  as 
high  as  Niagara — its  volume,  of  course,  not 
nearly  as  great — it  was  yet  the  largest  we  had 
seen  in  the  Valley.  .  .  .  As  it  was  now 
nearly  nightfall,  we  hailed  with  pleasure 
Snow's  Cottage,  at  the  foot  of  the  Nevada 
Fall.  Mrs.  Snow  is  a  Vermonter,  a  woman  of 
shrewdness,  activity,  and  disposed  to  please 
travelers.  She  knows  how  to  cook  all  the  plain 
dishes,  and  can  furnish  from  her  dairy  milk  and 
butter  equal  to  those  produced  in  her  native 
State.  We  had  recovered  from  the  effects  of 
our  fish  dinner,  the  walk  had  given  us  fine  ap- 


90    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


petites,  we  ate  heartily,  soon  went  to  bed,  and 
found  that  'the  sleep  of  the  laboring  man  is 
sweet,  whether  he  eat  little  or  much' ! 

"At  half -past  six  in  the  morning  we  break- 
fasted, and  having  provided  ourselves  >vith  a 
sandwich,  set  out  on  a  tour  into  the  higher  re- 
gions. Our  route  first  was  to  the  summit  of 
the  Nevada  Fall,  up  a  magnificently  romantic 
path  by  its  side.  The  top  reached,  we  went  out 
upon  a  causeway  of  rocks  into  the  middle  of  the 
river,  and  from  a  kind  of  cape  or  promontory, 
just  above  the  hp  of  the  Fall,  beheld  the  won- 
drous panorama.  Perpendicularly  descending 
beneath  us  was  the  Nevada ;  then  the  httle  spot 
of  green,  with  Snow's  house  on  it;  below,  the 
cascades ;  then  the  Vernal  Fall ;  on  the  left,  the 
lofty  crest  of  the  Sierras ;  on  the  right,  the  Cap 
of  Liberty ;  and  in  the  distance,  portions  of  the 
main  Valley,  with  a  glimpse  of  El  Capitan. 
Here  one  might  remain  motionless  for  a  day, 
and  never  grow  weary  or  desire  a  change  of 
position.  My  Scotch  friend  suggested  that 
I  ought  by  all  means  to  ascend  the  Cap  of 
Libert}^  and  offered  to  point  out  the  path; 
but  said  that  as  he  had  already  made  the  ascent, 
he  would  amuse  himself  below.  Accordingly, 
I  began  the  journey  up.  The  only  difficulty 
was  the  steepness,  for  the  trees  were  burnt 


FIGHT  FOR  LIFE  91 


off  at  the  base  of  the  mountain,  and  for  the 
last  fifteen  hundred  feet  of  perpendicular 
ascent  it  was  smooth,  bare  granite.  The  still- 
ness and  sohtude  deepened  the  impression  of 
sublimity;  the  views  continually  increasing  in 
grandeur  and  extent ;  and  after  an  hour  and  a 
half  of  fair  work  the  summit  was  reached.  It 
is,  as  the  name  indicates,  a  mass  of  granite 
shaped  like  a  cap,  entirely  smooth,  but  having 
on  it  one  or  two  trees  whose  roots  absorb  all 
the  earth  there  is.  The  scene  cannot  be  de- 
scribed, and  cannot  be  forgotten.  ...  I  had 
not  been  on  the  summit  more  than  twenty  min- 
utes when  my  companion  appeared,  and  said 
that  he  would  point  out  some  objects  which 
could  not  be  identified  without  a  guide.  He 
then  proposed  to  advance  to  the  sharp  edge  of 
the  cliff  and  look  at  the  rainbows  playing  about 
the  Nevada  Fall.  He  did  so,  and  stretching 
his  body  far  out  over  the  precipice,  requested 
me  to  sit  down  upon  his  limbs,  which  done,  he 
enjoyed  for  a  few  moments  the  scene,  and  then 
offered  to  exchange  places  with  me,  which  was 
soon  accomphshed.  If  he  had  risen,  or  had 
been  seized  with  a  convulsion,  no  cannon  ball 
ever  rushed  through  the  air  more  rapidly  than 
my  body  would  have  plunged  into  the  abyss. 
So  long  as  neither  of  these  happened,  there  was 


92    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


no  danger  whatever,  and  the  enjoyment  amply 
repaid  the  trouble.  The  descent  was  soon 
made,  and  the  question  now  arose.  Where 
next? 

"In  the  distance  Cloud's  Rest  towered  up 
more  than  ten  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  and  about  four  thousand  five  hundred 
above  our  position.  After  a  little  deliberation, 
about  noon  we  started  for  that  mountain.  At 
our  left  now  was  the  Cap  of  Liberty,  and  be- 
yond it  the  Half  Dome,  whose  aspect  is  as 
imposing  on  this  side  as  on  the  other,  though  its 
form  is  very  different.  For  a  few  miles  the 
way  was  quite  level,  and  the  walking  easy; 
there  was  no  bridle  path  then,  as  there  is  now, 
and  we  trusted  to  our  eyes.  .  .  .  At  four  in 
the  afternoon  we  reached  what  we  supposed  to 
be  the  summit,  but  found  that  there  are  three 
peaks,  the  highest  of  which  had  not  been  visible 
at  all  from  any  point  which  we  had  passed  be- 
fore, and  that  it  was  at  least  half  a  mile  from 
us.  On  we  went,  determined  to  attain  it,  and 
ate  our  last  sandwich  on  the  very  crest  at  five 
o'clock.  We  saw,  from  Cloud's  Rest,  the 
Valley  itself ;  Mount  Lyell,  thirteen  thousand 
feet  high ;  Mount  Dana,  thirteen  thousand  two 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  feet  high;  Mount 
Hoffman,  Mount  Starr  King,  the  Obelisk 


FIGHT  FOR  LIFE  93 


Range,  and  innumerable  peaks  and  ranges, 
and  could  apply  to  it  a  remark  made  by  a  well- 
known  traveler  about  another  mountain — 
*Only  those  who  have  been  there  can  tell  what 
a  mistake  is  made  by  omitting  it.'  .  .  .  After 
the  adventures  of  this  day,  the  tourists  reached 
Snow's  Cottage  at  nine  in  the  evening,  where 
they  enjoyed  a  cooked  supper  and  a  night  of 
profoundest  sleep. 

"At  6  A.  M.  we  were  up,  and  at  6:30  were 
off  again,  this  time  determined  to  'bring  up' 
somewhere  else  that  night,  or  sleep  out  on  the 
mountains.  Having  reascended  to  the  summit 
of  Nevada  Fall,  we  continued  our  walk  along 
the  side  of  the  river  to  the  Little  Yosemite 
Valley.  .  .  .  Having  spent  some  hours  here, 
we  returned  toward  the  Nevada  Fall,  in  search 
of  a  log  on  which  to  cross  the  river.  None 
being  found,  Mr.  Maxwell  proposed  to  wade  it, 
and,  removing  a  portion  of  his  clothing,  made 
the  attempt,  but  soon  found  that  he  had  miscal- 
culated the  depth,  and  became  thoroughly 
soaked  with  the  coldest  water.  I  preferred  to 
disrobe  entirely,  and  avoid  the  necessity  of 
climbing  in  wet  clothes.  We  then  began  the 
ascent  of  Mount  Starr  King,  which  rises 
steeply  from  the  shore  of  the  river.  The  chap- 
arral, a  very  stiff,  impenetrable  growth,  ob- 


94    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


structed  our  progress  at  every  step.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  steepness,  the  labor  was  as  great 
as  that  of  forcing  through  hedges,  and  at  the 
end  of  two  hours  we  seemed  provokingly  close 
to  the  river.  But  by  two  o'clock  we  were  as 
near  the  summit  as  it  is  possible  for  human  be- 
ings to  get  by  climbing.  Professor  Whitney 
says:  *Starr  King  is  the  steepest  cone  in  the 
region  with  the  exception  of  Half  Dome,  and  is 
exceedingly  smooth,  having  hardly  a  brake  in 
it ;  the  summit  is  quite  inaccessible,  and  we  have 
not  been  able  to  measure  its  height.'  We  think 
we  were  within  six  hundred  feet  perpendicular 
of  the  summit.  Having  surveyed  the  marvel- 
ous panorama,  which  stretched  from  Monte 
Diablo  in  the  Coast  Range,  near  San  Fran- 
cisco, to  Mount  Lyell  and  the  Obelisk  Range, 
we  descended  rapidly  toward  the  Illilouett,  or 
South  Fork,  along  which  we  wandered  for  per- 
haps two  miles  before  finding  a  place  to  cross. 
Mr.  Maxwell  could  cross  a  log  over  a  chasm 
five  hundred  feet  deep,  and  his  head  would  be 
wholly  unmoved;  not  so  with  me — though 
under  the  encouragement  of  his  example  I  im- 
proved. On  this  occasion  I  crawled  across  a 
narrow  log,  where  a  shp  would  have  been  fatal, 
taking  the  attitude  of  boys  playing  the  ancient 
game  of  'see-saw.'  It  was  now  5  p.  m.,  and  we 


FIGHT  FOR  LIFE  95 


were  a  long  distance  from  any  human  habita- 
tion. According  to  Maxwell's  judgment,  we 
began  to  climb  almost  perpendicularly  up  the 
mountain  side.  Two  hours  passed  in  silence 
and  severe  toil,  when  Mr.  M.  cried  out,  *There 
is  a  grizzly  I'  And  so  it  was.  The  immense 
brute,  however,  showed  no  disposition  to  molest 
us,  and  walked  slowly  away  into  a  rocky 
cavern.   .   .  . 

"At  eight  o'clock,  with  our  tongues  greatly 
swollen  and  hanging  out  of  our  mouths  with 
thirst,  there  having  been  neither  snow  nor  water 
on  our  last  ascent,  we  reached  the  summit.  The 
sun  was  just  setting  and  the  full  moon  rising- 
opposite,  and  they  seemed  but  a  few  miles 
apart.  As  they  rose  and  set  behind  the  vertical 
summits  of  mountain  ranges,  it  seemed  as 
though  there  was  an  invisible  axis  common  to 
both,  and  that  it  was  so  inclined  that  one  sank 
as  the  other  rose.  Never  have  I  beheld  any- 
thing more  beautiful  in  the  Alps  or  any  of  our 
American  mountains  than  the  blended  rays  of 
the  rising  moon  and  setting  sun  reflected  from 
the  snowy  Sierras.  .  .  . 

"Across  the  valley,  far  up  the  Yosemite  Fall, 
a  huge  fire  was  burning,  kindled  by  Mr.  Muir, 
a  resident  of  the  valley,  who  had  an  engage- 
ment to  spend  the  night  there  with  us ;  but  we 


96    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 

had  failed  to  reach  it.  The  temperature  was 
now  about  five  degrees  below  freezing  point, 
ice  formed  all  about  us,  and  our  clothing,  wet 
by  the  water  in  the  canon,  began  to  grow  stiff. 
We  had  no  time  to  lose,  and  walked  at  a  rapid 
pace  to  Peregoy's,  arriving  there  at  twenty 
minutes  of  one  in  the  morning,  having  walked 
and  climbed  steadily  from  a  little  before  7  a. 
M.  to  12:40  A.  M.  next  day,  making  just  the 
eighteen  hours  I  had  foolishly  boasted  of  in  the 
beginning.  Peregoy  could  give  us  no  bed,  nor 
any  dry  clothes,  so  we  sat  over  the  cookstove 
until  five  o'clock,  when  two  guides  got  up,  and 
we  slipped  into  their  places  and  slept  till  six- 
thirty,  when  we  breakfasted  and  afterward 
ascended  the  Sentinel  Dome,  subsequently  go- 
ing down  the  Sentinel  Rock  Canon  to  the  hotel, 
which  was  reached  Saturday  afternoon  at  four 
o'clock." 

These  extracts,  taken  from  Dr.  Buckley's 
experiences  in  the  Yosemite,  are  justified  in 
this  chapter  for  two  reasons:  first,  they  furnish 
an  impressive  illustration  of  the  athletic  status 
reached  by  a  man  who  only  won  because  against 
most  menacing  odds  he  made  a  heroic  "fight  for 
life" ;  second,  the  incidents  related  are  of  most 
intrinsic  interest. 

The  story  of  methods  used  by  Dr.  Buckley 


FIGHT  FOR  LIFE  97 


for  the  recovery  of  his  health  has  been  widety 
told,  and  has  made  as  widely  for  itself  a  vivid 
impression.  A  writer,  whose  name  is  here  with- 
held, has  recently  published  in  a  Los  Angeles 
paper  a  personal  statement  of  the  case,  which 
in  form  seems  entirely  sincere,  but  which  in 
fact  is  largely  apocryphal.  This  communica- 
tion, however,  nearly  announces  the  real  law 
of  the  case,  and  does  it  so  artistically  as  to  make 
its  reproduction  here  not  without  interest.  He 
says: 

"Dr.  J.  M.  Buckley,  for  forty  years  the 
editor  of  the  New  York  Christian  Advocate, 
was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  scholars  and 
public  speakers  in  America.  He  died  a  little 
while  ago  at  about  fourscore  years  of  age." 
(At  this  present  writing  Dr.  Buckley  is  very 
much  alive. — G.  P.  M.)  "After  a  great  meet- 
ing, in  which  Dr.  Buckley  had  addressed  with 
psychic  power  six  or  seven  thousand  people, 
holding  them  entranced  with  his  wonderful  ora- 
tory, the  writer  asked  him  where  he  found 
that  marvelous  voice,  for  every  person  of  that 
multitude  had  heard  every  syllable  of  the  ad- 
dress, while  no  other  speaker  of  that  national 
convention  had  been  able  to  reach  the  ear  of 
more  than  half  the  assembly. 

"Then  he  gave  the  following  account  of  him- 


98    JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


self :  At  twenty-five  years  of  age  he  found  he 
was  going  with  consumption,  as  his  father  had 
gone  with  it  at  twenty-nine,  and  his  older 
brother  at  twenty-seven;  and  he  seemed  des- 
tined to  the  same  fate.  He  resolved  to  fight 
it. 

"He  started  from  New  York  city  afoot  and 
walked  to  San  Francisco.  As  he  went  he 
talked  and  sang  and  shouted,  vociferated  to 
men  and  trees  and  with  every  degree  of  force, 
from  the  lowest  and  gentlest  to  the  fullest  and 
strongest.  He  peopled  the  way  with  mortals 
and  angels,  demons  and  gods,  beings  visible 
and  invisible,  and  spoke  to  them  all,  as  a  man 
will  speak  when  conscious  that  he  is  triumph- 
ing over  death;  for  he  had  that  consciousness 
from  the  start.  From  San  Francisco  he  walked 
to  New  Orleans,  speaking  all  the  way,  and  from 
there  hastened  home,  a  well  man — healed  by 
the  Great  Outdoors." 

The  narrative  of  this  chapter,  entirely  aside 
from  the  fact  that  it  is  an  essential  part  of  an 
exceptional  life-story,  speaks  lessons  of  high- 
est value.  Many  an  engrossed  mental  worker 
yields  to  the  feeling  that  he  cannot  afford  the 
time  for  ample  out-of-door  exercise.  The  view 
is  a  great  fallacy.  The  man  who  takes  time  for 
ozonic  exercise,  thereby  toning  his  muscle,  in- 


FIGHT  FOR  LIFE  99 


vigorating  his  nerves,  inflating  his  lungs,  and 
quickening  his  circulation,  by  this  very  process 
clarifies  his  brain,  and  so  increases  his  general 
vigor  as  to  enable  him  to  do  a  larger  and  better 
volume  of  mental  work  in  briefer  time,  and 
with  far  greater  enjoyment  in  its  performance 
than  would  be  at  all  possible  without  paying 
this  price.  He  will  also  thereby  be  almost  cer- 
tain to  secure  for  himself  a  longer  tenure  of 
productive  working  life. 

It  might  prove  of  value  to  many  if  attention 
were  called  to  the  fact  that  the  subject  of  this 
narrative  is  a  past-master  in  the  art  of  pro- 
viding every  physical  appliance  which  may  aid 
in  the  most  normal  exercise  of  health-giving 
pedestrianism.  He  has  not  only  scrupulously 
observed  the  sanest  laws  of  digestion  and  of 
rest,  but  no  man  than  he  is  a  better  judge  of  a 
thoroughly  first-class,  scientific  walking  shoe. 
His  sense  of  physical  sanity  demands  that 
muscle,  nerve,  and  joint  shall  be  accorded  un- 
obstructed normal  rights. 


CHAPTER  V 


EDITOR 

The  Christian  Advocate,  the  oldest  weekly 
publication  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
has  had  a  continuous  history  of  eighty-eight 
years.  Its  editorial  management  has  been  rep- 
resented by  a  long  line  of  able  and  illustrious 
men,  including  such  names  as  Nathan  Bangs, 
John  P.  Durbin,  Samuel  Luckey,  John  A. 
Collins,  Thomas  Bond,  George  Coles,  Abel 
Stevens,  Edward  Thomson,  Daniel  Curry, 
Charles  H.  Fowler,  James  M.  Buckley, 
George  P.  Eckman,  and,  including  its  present 
editor,  James  R.  Joy. 

Of  all  these  men  it  was  reserved  for  Dr. 
Buckley  to  hold  the  longest  tenure  of  editorial 
responsibility.  He  was  first  elected  editor  in 
1880,  at  the  General  Conference,  holding  its 
session  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati.  He  held  the 
tripod  continuously  until  1912,  a  period  of 
thirty -two  years.  At  his  first  election  the  entire 
number  of  votes  cast  was  377,  of  which  he  re- 
ceived 228. 

The  sketch  of  his  personal  history  presented 

100 


EDITOR 


101 


in  the  Daily  Advocate  at  the  time  of  his  elec- 
tion, gives  the  following  characterization:  "It 
would  be  difficult  to  say  in  what  he  excels,  as 
he  is  so  well  poised  that  he  seems  equal  to  any 
emergency  in  debate,  in  the  pulpit,  on  the  ros- 
trum, or  as  a  writer.  Few  ministers  have  such 
a  judicial  mind  as  he.  In  debate  he  is  incisive, 
clear,  and  striking,  and  abounds  with  original 
thoughts.  In  his  pulpit  he  is  illustrative, 
didactic,  logical,  and  cogent.  He  prepares 
carefully,  and  often  indulges  in  a  sort  of  epi- 
grammatic style.  This  renders  his  short,  pithy 
speeches  rich  and  racy.  He  makes  temperance 
and  Sunday  schools  specialties,  frequently  lec- 
turing on  these  subjects.  He  possesses  extraor- 
dinary gifts  in  discussion,  speaks  clearly  and 
correctly,  and  always  commands  attention." 

The  appraisement  of  his  talents  is  not  to  be 
found  in  any  single  department  of  his  activi- 
ties. His  gifts  are  many-sided,  and  his  excep- 
tional power  has  asserted  itself  phenomenally 
in  many  diverse  fields  of  action.  In  his  long 
career  in  religious  journalism  he  worthily  won 
for  himself  the  rank  of  a  very  Nestor  in  his  pro- 
fession. It  is  no  exaggeration  to  assert  that 
the  variety  of  subjects  which  received  his  treat- 
ment, and  the  volume  of  thought  to  which  he 
gave  expression  in  his  editorial  function  are  so 


102  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


immense  as  to  pass  ordinary  comprehension. 
It  is  but  conservative  to  say  that  in  the  volume 
and  variety  of  his  intellectual  output  Dr. 
Buckley  justly  takes  rank  among  the  most  pro- 
lific minds  of  the  age.  It  has  sometimes  been 
asserted  that  if  it  were  not  for  the  glamour  of 
his  brilliant  reputation  as  a  debater,  he  would 
not  have  received  so  high  popular  appraisal  as 
an  editor.  It  requires  only  a  measured  review 
of  the  volume  and  quahty  of  his  editorial  work 
to  disprove  this  assumption.  Dr.  Theodore 
L.  Cuyler,  a  well-nigh  peerless  pastor,  was  a 
veteran  contributor  to,  and  a  reader  of,  the  reh- 
gious  journalism  of  the  nation,  and  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  assign  to  Dr.  Buckley  the  foremost 
rank  among  American  religious  editors.  If 
for  the  long  period  of  his  official  editorship  he 
had  confined  his  pubhc  activities  solely  to  The 
Christian  Advocate,  his  high  historic  rank  as  a 
Christian  editor  would  be  fully  assured. 

It  is  never  to  be  forgotten,  when  seeking  ap- 
praisement of  James  M.  Buckley,  in  any  de- 
partment of  his  activities,  that  we  are  dealing 
always  with  an  extraordinary  character.  His 
phenomenal  fruit  fulness  can  only  be  accounted 
for  by  appeal  to  the  extraordinary.  His  mem- 
ory was  most  impressionable  and  retentive. 
His  store  of  general  information  was  encyclo- 


EDITOR 


103 


pedic.  His  knowledge  of  details  was  phenom- 
enally accurate.  He  seemed  naturally  to  give 
logical  classification  and  place  to  every  fact 
that  had  ever  come  within  the  range  of  his 
knowledge.  In  a  remarkable  way  he  was  able 
instantly  to  draw  upon  the  facts  required  for 
the  uses  of  the  moment.  Coupled  with  abun- 
dant knowledge  and  a  marvelous  memory,  was 
a  quality  of  mind  which  enabled  him  at  all 
times,  like  the  master-genius  of  a  battlefield,  to 
marshal  his  force  to  desired  ends.  He  was  log- 
ical and  orderly  in  his  mental  processes.  His 
mind  moved  electrically  to  the  goal  of  his  pur- 
pose. What  would  have  been  hard  and  plod- 
ding work  to  many  another,  seemed  under  his 
processes  to  be  mere  intellectual  byplay.  He 
was,  indeed,  a  kind  of  intellectual  Atlas,  in  pos- 
session of  a  coordinated  and  symmetrized  men- 
tal machinery  which  fitted  him  for  the  easy  per- 
formance of  what  would  prove  to  other  men 
huge  tasks. 

His  habits  in  composition  were  such  as  to 
give  him  exemption  from  the  severe  nervous 
strain  which  many  undergo  in  the  process  of 
writing.  His  rule  was  to  have  as  aid  a  most 
competent  stenographer.  He  was  careful  be- 
forehand quite  fully  and  accurately  to  inform 
himself  concerning  subjects  which  he  wished 


104  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


editorially  to  treat.  It  is  evident  from  the 
qualities  as  already  noted  that  when  the  time 
came  for  formal  statement,  he  was  able  on  the 
instant  to  dictate  his  thought.  In  this  process, 
as  though  to  relieve  an  overpressure  of  mate- 
rial, he  frequently  dictated  much  more  than  he 
finally  decided  to  send  to  the  printer.  With 
blue  pencil,  he  revised  the  stenographer's 
proofs,  thus  giving  final  shape  to  his  editorials. 
None  the  less  he  made  much  use  of  the  pen  in 
his  editorial  work,  so  much  so  indeed  that  he  has 
been  known  to  suffer  at  times  from  "writer's 
cramp." 

In  his  long-time  control  of  The  Christian 
Advocate  he  not  only  regularly  contributed  a 
full  measure  of  editorial  matter,  but  he  fre- 
quently furnished  in  serial  form,  sometimes 
running  through  many  numbers,  letters  vividly 
setting  forth  his  impressions  on  the  most  vari- 
ous questions  of  public  and  general  interest. 
It  may  serve  to  give  a  just  impression  of  the 
overflow  of  his  intellectual  activities  in  many 
directions,  if  a  few  instances  of  these  special 
letters  are  given,  as  taken  at  random  from  the 
files  of  The  Christian  Advocate. 

In  1886  he  published  twelve  letters  on  "A 
New  Invasion  of  the  South."  In  the  same 
year  he  published  a  series  of  pungent  editorials 


EDITOR 


105 


on  "Collisions  Between  Employers  and  Em- 
ployees." In  1894  he  published  a  series  of 
thirty-four  articles  on  his  personal  travels 
throughout  our  own  great  West,  Alaska,  Can- 
ada. In  the  years  1905  and  1906  he  published 
fifty-three  letters  on  "The  Mormons  and  Mor- 
monism."  In  1909  he  published  fifteen  articles 
on  the  "Fads  of  Exercise  Contrasted  with 
Scientific  and  Symmetrical  Development." 
In  the  same  year  he  issued  thirteen  letters  on 
the  "Cream  of  the  Memory  Systems."  In  the 
year  1900  he  pubhshed  "Forty-one  Storm- 
Centers  in  the  General  Conference  of  1900." 
In  1911  he  gave  forth  ten  articles  on  "Mrs. 
Eddy's  Errors  in  Common  Sense,  Science,  and 
the  Bible." 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that  the  foregoing 
list  is  exhaustive.  It  is  simply  a  sample  list 
which  in  amount  of  matter  could  be  several 
times  repeated.  Any  one  of  several  of  these  dis- 
cussions, had  they  been  so  gathered,  would  have 
made  a  sizable  volume,  and  of  material  worthy 
of  permanent  embodiment  in  book  form. 

In  the  course  of  the  long  period  of  his  edito- 
rial work  it  fell  frequently  to  him  to  write  bio- 
graphical sketches  of  eminent  characters,  both 
in  and  out  of  Methodism,  who  had  died.  In 
this  department  it  may  be  questioned  whether 


106  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 

any  other  historic  editor,  within  an  equal 
period,  ever  wrote  so  many  discerning,  discrim- 
inating, various,  just,  and  apt  characteriza- 
tions of  departed  hves,  as  appeared  from  his 
pen.  Concerning  this  department,  Dr.  Wil- 
ham  V.  Kelley,  himself  a  hterary  artist,  in  an 
autograph  letter  to  Dr.  Buckley  says:  "When 
I  had  finished  reading  your  editorial  on  Bishop 
McCabe,  and  tried  to  read  its  effect  on  my 
mind,  I  found  such  things  as  these  running  in 
my  thoughts  (a  sentence  which  first  framed 
itself  some  years  ago  came  up  again) :  *Why 
does  Dr.  Buckley  want  to  organize  himself 
into  an  octopus  and  do  everything  better  than 
the  rest  of  us  can  do  anything  V  The  most  ex- 
traordinary delineator,  portrait  painter  Meth- 
odism has  produced — one  of  the  most  magnan- 
imous and  generous  of  men  in  his  tributes  to 
his  brethren,  alive  or  dead. — Such  things  were 
stirring  in  my  mind  as  I  sat  back  from  read- 
ing your  extraordinary  and  unmatchable  edi- 
torial. Possibly  you  did  not  reckon  among  the 
captured  prizes  and  decorations  of  your  life, 
that  you  should  be  ranked  among  great  artists. 
I  have  for  a  long  time  so  held  you." 

It  would,  of  course,  be  anticipated  that  not 
everybody  would  indorse  all  of  Dr.  Buckley's 
editorial  products.    He  sometimes  antago- 


EDITOR 


107 


nized  the  preferences  of  men.  He  pointed  a 
path  in  which  some  people  did  not  wish  to 
walk.  Some  could  not  always  find  themselves 
able  to  agree  with  his  reasoning.  And  it  would 
frequently  happen  that  neither  the  substance 
of  his  thought  nor  the  style  of  his  statement 
would  make  appeal  to  certain  types  of  mind. 
So  far  as  this  latter  class  is  concerned,  the 
editor  is  by  no  means  excluded  from  good  com- 
pany. Not  every  one  appreciates  Shake- 
speare. Among  many  who  make  the  attempt 
are  those  who  fail  to  understand  Browning. 
This  is  only  to  say  that  an  editor  who,  as  such, 
fails  to  be  appreciated  in  some  quarters,  may 
nevertheless  be  found  intrinsically  worthy  of 
classification  with  characters  most  illustrious. 
Doubtless,  our  editor's  work  was  too  intellec- 
tual in  character,  and  was  devoted  to  purposes 
too  serious,  to  be  in  a  large  popular  sense  really 
appreciated  or  enjoyed.  He  wrote  mostly  for 
a  constituency  with  a  taste  for  intellectual  and 
serious  thinking. 

The  wayside  incident  is  sometimes  signifi- 
cant. Dr.  Buckley  tells  the  following  on  him- 
self :  "Traveling  westward,  about  twenty  years 
ago,  I  found  the  cars  crowded,  every  seat  being 
taken  save  one.  Behind  me  was  one  of  the  most 
gigantic  men  I  had  ever  seen;  he  was  much 


108  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


larger  than  ex-President  Taft,  even  before  he 
reduced  his  weight  by  sixty  pounds.  As  I  was 
scanning  him  he  took  out  of  his  coat  pocket 
several  papers,  and  lo !  they  were  copies  of  The 
Christian  Advocate.  I  asked  him  if  he  took 
that  paper.  A  deep  voice  resounded  through 
the  car,  'No!  I  don't,  but  my  wife  does;  and 
I  tell  you  they  have  an  old  cuss  at  the  head  of 
it  who  gives  things  their  right  names.'  " 

Dr.  Buckley's  editorial  policy,  which  was 
closely  adhered  to  throughout  his  long  career, 
can  be  no  better  stated  than  by  himself.  In  the 
first  issue  of  The  Christian  Advocate,  as  under 
his  editorship,  of  date  June  3,  1880,  after  much 
consultation  and  mature  thought,  among  other 
equally  impressive  statements,  he  said : 

"In  twenty-two  years  of  public  life,  passed 
wholly  in  the  pastorate,  we  have  not  been  dis- 
contented. The  ministry  has  afforded  a  sphere 
of  useful,  honorable,  and  delightful  activity. 
Nothing  less  than  the  unsolicited  call  of  the 
Church  could  justifj^  a  willingness  to  turn 
aside  from  it,  even  for  a  limited  period.  .  .  . 
We  enter  upon  the  work  unconstrained  by  any 
pledge  as  to  men  or  measures,  having  formed 
but  one  resolution  and  announced  but  one 
policy,  namely,  to  make  every  effort  to  render 
The  Christian  Advocate  what  it  should  be. 


EDITOR 


109 


"But  what  should  it  be?  As  a  Christian  ad- 
vocate it  should  explain  and  vindicate  Chris- 
tian principles  as  against  the  misrepresenta- 
tions and  attacks  of  infidelity.  As  the  organ 
of  a  Protestant  communion  it  should  declare 
and  vindicate  the  grounds  of  its  refusal  to 
accept  the  claims  and  submit  to  the  spiritual 
and  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  As  the  organ  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  denomination  it  should  ex- 
plain its  doctrines  and  discipline,  its  institu- 
tions and  ceremonies.  It  should  also  describe 
its  customs,  and  point  out  the  reasons  for 
them. 

"It  should  furnish  its  readers  with  religious 
news — intelligence  of  the  progress  of  Chris- 
tianity in  general,  and  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  particular.  And  it  should  dis- 
cuss everything  that  relates  to  the  moral  wel- 
fare of  mankind.  But  social,  intellectual,  and 
moral  questions  are  so  intimately  connected 
that  every  domain  of  thought  and  action  must 
be  to  some  extent  explored  in  the  search  for 
materials  to  be  used  in  this  work.  On  temper- 
ance, education,  the  rights  of  the  common  peo- 
ple, the  relation  of  virtue  to  individual  and 
national  prosperity,  it  should  have  decided  con- 
victions. 


110  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


"As  it  circulates  among  men  of  all  parties,  it 
should  not  discuss  mere  partisan  issues,  nor  ob- 
trude the  political  prejudices  and  preposses- 
sions of  its  editor  upon  the  people,  nor  descend 
to  the  details  of  party  organization  and  action. 
But  in  the  interests  of  truth  and  of  the  welfare 
of  all  classes  it  should  fearlessly  expose  and  de- 
nounce political  corruption;  and  where  polit- 
ical parties  deal  with  moral  questions  it  is  espe- 
cially called  on  to  discuss  fully  and  fairly  those 
questions  regardless  of  their  effect  on  party 
issues — in  all  cases  Vith  malice  toward  none, 
and  charity  toward  all.' 

"It  should  keep  its  readers  advised  of  the 
various  philanthropic  enterprises  which  from 
time  to  time  attract  public  attention,  and  de- 
vote much  space  to  the  advocacy  of  those  plans 
which  have  been  devised  and  authorized  for 
their  extension  at  home  and  abroad. 

"If  there  be  any  class  of  the  population  in 
the  North  or  the  South,  the  East  or  the  West, 
pecuharly  liable  to  oppression.  The  Chris- 
tian Advocate  should  be  keenly  alive  to  their 
interests,  and  open  its  columns  to  their  defense. 
As  it  is  the  organ  of  a  ^denomination,'  it  should 
'express  the  mind  of  the  body  of  which  it  is 
the  organ.'  It  might,  therefore,  be  supposed 
*under  a  yoke,'  and  incapable  of  being  the 


EDITOR 


111 


Vehicle  of  free  thought.'  This  would,  indeed, 
be  the  case  if  the  editor  did  not  believe  the  doc- 
trines, nor  love  the  spirit,  nor  approve  the 
usages  of  the  Church.  .    .  . 

"But  we  shall  not  be  debarred  the  privilege, 
nor  absolved  from  the  responsibility,  of  en- 
deavoring to  improve  the  Church  by  reexamin- 
ing its  mode  of  action,  and  considering  the 
transitions  which  are  taking  place;  believing 
that  while  'carping  and  revengeful  criticism'  is 
ever  destructive,  conservative  criticism  is  a  con- 
dition of  genuine  progress.  .   .  . 

"We  are  not  unmindful  that  the  editorial  art 
is  as  distinctly  a  profession  as  that  of  law  or 
medicine,  and  that  we  have  it  to  learn;  and 
whether  we  can  acquire  the  nice  discrimination 
which  discerns  what  the  pubhc  needs  as  clearly 
as  what  it  wishes;  and  the  tact  which  will  per- 
suade it  to  receive  what  it  needs  when  what  it 
wishes  is  not  what  it  needs,  is  the  experiment 
which  we  are  required  to  attempt.  It  is  at  this 
point  that  we  feel  great  diffidence.  .  .  .  De- 
termined to  be  as  diligent  as  if  this  were  a  pri- 
vate enterprise,  we  shall  rely  upon  the  sym- 
pathy, the  prayers  and  the  loyalty  of  the 
Church,  whose  representative  and  servant  we 
are." 

As  Editor,  Dr.  Buckley  quite  fully  exercised 


112  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


the  right  which  he  reserved  for  himself  in  his 
original  prospectus,  "of  endeavoring  to  im- 
prove the  Church  by  reexamining  its  mode  of 
action,  and  considering  the  transactions  which 
are  taking  place,  .  .  .  believing  that  con- 
servative criticism  is  a  condition  of  genuine 
progress." 

While  it  must  be  said  that  his  attitude 
toward  the  Church,  both  as  to  its  doctrines  and 
usages,  was  usually  conservative,  it  remains 
probably  true  that  no  writer  in  the  denomina- 
tion has  more  fully  expounded  and  defended 
both  Methodist  law  and  teaching.  It  is  cer- 
tainly true  that  no  man  has  shown  a  more 
masterful  knowledge  of  the  genesis  and  de- 
velopment of  Methodist  history.  Among  legal 
authorities  on  Methodism  it  would  not  be  ex- 
travagant to  class  him  as  the  Daniel  Webster 
of  the  Methodist  Constitution. 

At  the  close  of  an  unprecedented  tenure  of 
thirty-two  years  as  editor  of  the  chief  official 
organ  of  his  denomination.  Doctor  Buckley 
voluntarily  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for  re- 
election. His  announcement  of  this  purpose  at 
the  General  Conference  of  1912  created  an 
occasion  of  most  unusual  interest.  On  the 
morning  of  May  27,  he  took  the  floor  to  make 
the  following  announcement: 


EDITOR 


113 


"Thirty-two  years  ago  Henry  W.  Warren 
was  elected  and  consecrated  a  bishop.  In  the 
same  year  and  by  the  same  Conference  I  was 
elected  editor  of  The  Christian  Advocate. 
Bishop  Warren  was  elected  for  life;  I  for  a 
single  quadrennium.  But  through  the  con- 
fidence and  favor  of  the  Church  I  have  been 
reelected  seven  times. 

"During  the  last  few  weeks  a  very  great 
many  have  asked  if  I  wished  to  be  continued  in 
the  office.  Usually  I  have  answered  that  *if 
that  were  the  case  I  should  be  glad,  but  if  not 
I  would  not  be  sorry.'  In  every  instance  I 
have  reserved  in  my  thought  final  decision  until 
the  day  of  action  should  approach.  Then  all 
the  tendencies  coalesce.  This  fluctuation  has 
culminated  in  the  feeling  that  it  is  wiser  to 
retire  before  the  task  becomes  a  heavy  burden, 
though  the  duties  of  editorship  have  been  very 
agreeable  to  me.  Therefore,  as  the  natural 
consequence,  I  wish  my  name  to  be  withdrawn. 
I  highly  estimate  and  gladly  acknowledge  the 
favor  shown  to  me  by  the  eight  Conferences 
which  have  placed  and  continued  me  in  the 
office ;  and  also  by  the  pastors,  the  laymen,  and 
the  bishops  of  the  Church  who  have  encouraged 
me  to  believe  that  my  official  work  has  not  been 
in  vain." 


114  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


This  announcement  a\wafkened  a  sense  of 
deep  emotion  in  all  hearts,  but  in  obedience  to 
the  judgment  that  the  Conference  should  not 
yield  to  the  impulse  to  give  extemporaneous 
expression  to  its  feelings,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed "to  draft  suitable  expression  of  the 
appreciation  of  the  Conference"  as  related  to 
the  history  and  voluntary  retirement  of  Dr. 
Buckley.  This  committee,  consisting  of  Drs. 
John  F.  Goucher,  Henry  A.  Buttz,  Charles  M. 
Stuart,  Freeman  D.  Bovard,  and  the  present 
writer,  on  the  morning  of  Tuesday,  May  28, 
reported  as  follows : 

"This  General  Conference  has  heard  with 
keenest  interest  and  regret  the  declaration  of 
the  Rev.  James  Monroe  Buckley,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  declining  nomination  for  reelection  to 
the  editorship  of  The  Christian  Advocate.  We 
recognize  the  conspicuous  and  sustained  ability 
which  has  characterized  his  long  editorial 
career — a  service  extending  through  eight  full 
quadrennimns. 

"His  versatile  gifts,  his  exceptional  intellec- 
tual resourcefulness,  his  wealth  of  accurate 
knowledge,  coupled  with  clear  insight,  quick 
perception,  genuine  brotherliness,  a  high  sense 
of  justice,  strict  loyalty  to  convictions,  unceas- 
ing diligence — all  of  which  supremely  conse- 


EDITOR 


115 


crated  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  has  given  him 
a  rank  of  unequaled  influence  and  leadership 
in  the  councils  of  his  denomination.  In  general 
congresses  of  the  Christian  Church,  where  he 
has  represented  Methodism,  he  has  stood 
among  the  mighty  the  peer  of  the  best.  For 
more  than  a  generation  his  name  has  been  pro- 
nounced among  us  as  a  synonym  of  strength 
and  of  brilliant  abilities. 

"We  record  our  appreciation  of  the  long, 
honorable,  and  highly  useful  service  which  he 
has  rendered  to  our  general  Methodism;  we 
give  expression  to  the  high  esteem  in  which  we 
hold  him  as  a  man,  a  Christian,  an  able  de- 
fender of  the  faith,  and  an  ordained  leader  in 
the  Church  of  Christ.  His  record  in  our  de- 
nominational history  is  one  rich  in  achieve- 
ment, and  of  secure  and  abiding  recognition. 
We  shall  ever  continue  to  cherish  his  memory 
in  honor  and  in  love. 

"We  unite  in  the  hope  and  prayer  that  the 
future  may  hold  for  him  a  wealth  of  blessing, 
in  health  of  body,  in  clearness  of  intellect,  in 
buoyancy  of  spirit,  and  in  all  things  needful 
to  the  cheer  and  happiness  of  his  life,  still 
affording  him  many  years  of  continued  use- 
fulness." 

The  report  was  promptly  supported  by  able 


116  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


and  sympathetic  speeches  from  Drs.  Edgar 
Blake,  A.  S.  Kavanagh,  Levi  Gilbert,  Thomas 
Nicholson,  D.  G.  Downey,  and  for  the  laymen 
by  Governor  Wallace  and  the  Hon.  John  A. 
Patten.  Sentiments  kindred  to  those  so  ex- 
pressively voiced  by  these  speakers  were  liter- 
ally pressing  for  utterance  in  the  hearts  of  hun- 
dreds of  others  on  the  floor  of  the  Conference. 
When  the  Bishop  put  the  motion  for  adoption, 
the  great  audience  rose  as  one  man.  The  im- 
pression of  this  scene  is  thus  described  by  one 
of  the  editors  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South.  He  said:  "If  ever  a  man  could 
carry  into  the  reflective  twilights  of  age  the 
comfort  and  bracing  tonics  of  appreciation, 
that  man  is  Dr.  Buckley.  What  could  this  last 
General  Conference  do  that  was  left  undone? 
Did  it  not  stand  and  respectfully  pay  Dr. 
Buckley  its  homage,  when  he  came  forward 
and  read  his  memorable  letter  declining  reelec- 
tion to  The  Christian  Advocate?  Did  not  the 
lilies  of  a  thousand  handkerchiefs  blossom  as 
he  moved  down  the  aisle  when  the  document 
prepared  by  a  specially  equipped  conmiittee 
was  read,  and  the  Conference  awaited  some 
word  from  him?  His  appearance  was  always 
certain  of  a  salvo  of  applause.  And  observing 
him  that  hour  when  speaker  after  speaker  paid 


EDITOR 


117 


his  eulogy,  one  could  see  a  certain  detachment 
of  soul  as  if  he  were  hstening  to  the  praises  of 
another.  When  he  spoke  it  was  to  caution 
against  exaggeration.  And  as  he  spoke  the 
eyes  of  some  of  the  elder  men — who  understood 
— were  wet  with  crying." 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  few  events  in  the  edito- 
rial world  have  called  forth  more  widespread  or 
generous  comment  than  that  occasioned  by  Dr. 
Buckley's  retirement  from  his  official  work. 
His  editorial  successor,  in  paragraphs  of  fine 
analysis,  wrote  as  follows: 

"When  James  Monroe  Buckley  entered  the 
field  of  religious  journalism  he  found  it  oc- 
cupied by  such  men  as  Henry  C.  Bowen,  of  the 
Independent;  S.  Irenseus  Prime,  of  The  Ob- 
server; Henry  M.  Field,  of  The  Evangelist; 
and  Henry  Clay  Trumbull,  of  The  Sunday 
School  Times.  He  has  survived  all  these 
leaders.  .   .  . 

"The  versatility  of  his  gifts,  the  copiousness 
of  his  knowledge,  the  clarity  of  his  appre- 
hensions, the  keenness  of  his  humor,  and  the 
warmth  of  his  religious  feeling,  together  with 
his  remarkable  facility  in  expressing  his  convic- 
tions in  simple  and  in  intelligible  terms,  have 
combined  to  make  him  an  editor  of  singular 
force  and  effectiveness.  To  multitudes  of  per- 


118  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


sons  he  has  seemed  to  be  an  inexhaustible  foun- 
tain of  reason  and  spiritual  energy.  .   .  . 

"For  thirty-two  years  he  has  been  not  merely 
the  guiding  genius  of  The  Christian  Advo- 
cate; he  has  been  The  Christian  Advocate 
itself.  Other  hands  have  labored  to  produce 
it ;  his  spirit  alone  has  animated  it.  Thousands 
of  subscribers  have  eagerly  awaited  its  weekly 
appearance  as  the  approach  of  a  personal  coun- 
selor. It  conveyed  to  them  the  message  of  a 
man  whose  judgment  they  had  learned  to  trust 
with  absolute  confidence.  A  bright  woman 
said  the  other  day  that  the  Bible  and  The 
Christian  Advocate  held  the  topmost  places 
of  honor  among  the  literarj'-  treasures  of  her 
home,  and  added  that  her  husband  never  felt 
sm'e  of  his  ground  on  any  disputed  point  of 
morals  and  religion  until  he  had  read  what  Dr. 
Buckley  had  to  say  on  the  matter;  reminding 
one  of  the  afiirmation  of  Fisher  Ames,  that 
when  in  doubt  he  always  observed  how  Roger 
Sherman  voted,  and  then  contentedly  followed 
him.  Many  persons  will  now  for  a  season  find 
themselves  adrift,  the  trusted  pilot  having  dis- 
appeared. .   .  . 

"Doctor  Buckley  has  made  competition 
hopeless  by  the  diversity  of  his  excellences. 
He  has  writen  history,  theology,  travels,  es- 


EDITOR 


119 


says,  lectures — indeed,  he  seems  to  have  tried  a 
hand  at  everything  except  poetry  and  dramatic 
composition,  and  in  every  venture  he  has  won 
distinction.  .  .  .  His  duties  as  editor  of  our 
chief  denominational  organ  would  have  de- 
manded that  he  become  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  the  history,  constitution,  doc- 
trines, and  discipline  of  our  Church,  even  if  his 
natural  inclination  had  not  led  him  to  pursue 
these  subjects.  But  he  has  followed  them  with 
so  much  zest  and  industry  that  no  living  man 
surpasses  him  as  an  authority  on  questions  of 
church  pohty  and  Methodist  doctrine.  As  a 
member  of  every  General  Conference  since 
1872,  and  of  each  Ecumenical  Conference  of 
Methodism,  except  one,  since  the  first  held  in 
London  in  1881,  he  has  had  unusual  opportu- 
nities both  to  investigate  at  first  hand,  and  to 
assist  in  making  our  recent  denominational  his- 
tory. For  many  years  he  has  been  ready  at  a 
moment's  notice  to  discuss  any  feature  of  our 
system,  and  to  sustain  his  cause  by  citations 
from  the  records  of  the  past,  drawn  from  his 
capacious  memory.  .   .  . 

"If  the  possessor  of  so  much  knowledge  does 
not  exercise  self-restraint  in  his  communica- 
tions with  less  liberally  endowed  mortals,  he  is 
likely  to  awaken  jealousy  and  resentment. 


120  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


This  was  the  case  with  the  great  statesman  of 
the  South,  John  C.  Calhoun,  concerning  whom 
an  exasperated  stranger  who  had  just  met  him 
exclaimed:  *For  the  last  three  hours  I  have 
been  on  the  stretch,  trying  to  follow  him 
through  heaven  and  earth.  I  am  wearied,  and 
I  hate  a  man  who  makes  me  feel  mv  own  in- 
feriority.' 

*'Dr.  Buckley,  as  the  friend  of  every  benefi- 
cent movement,  the  supporter  of  all  wise  social, 
religious,  and  political  institutions,  and  the 
benefactor  of  universal  Methodism,  is  to-day, 
and  will  continue  to  be  throughout  his  subse- 
quent life,  the  object  of  sincere  veneration  and 
unfeigned  affection  on  the  part  of  many  thou- 
sands of  persons  in  the  four  quarters  of  the 
globe." 

It  is  not  permitted  in  this  narrative  to  give 
space  to  the  wealth  of  appreciative  and  worthy 
eulogy  which  found  expression  in  the  press, 
both  ecclesiastical  and  secular,  on  the  occasion 
of  Dr.  Buckley's  retirement  from  official  life. 
After  a  most  distinguished  editorial  career  ex- 
tending unbrokenly  through  eight  quadren- 
niums,  a  career  passed  in  the  white  light  of 
publicity,  a  career  which  in  its  multifarious 
features  had  been  predominantly  appraised, 
tested,  and  approved  at  the  bar  of  critical 


EDITOR 


121 


public  opinion,  like  a  knight  of  brilliant 
achievement  on  unnumbered  fields  of  contest, 
he  came  to  the  day  when  voluntarily  he  laid 
aside  his  shield  and  lance.  He  went  white- 
plumed  and  unsullied  to  his  well-earned  retire- 
ment. 


CHAPTER  VI 


DEBATER  AND 
PARLIAMENTARIAN 

Henry  Ward  Beecher  once  said  that  the 
loudest  call  any  man  ever  has  to  the  Christian 
ministry  is  when  he  is  born.  It  seems  a  historic 
demonstration  that  preeminent  men  are  born 
into  the  world  with  pronounced  potentialities 
of  their  coming  greatness.  The  poet  is  by  no 
means  the  only  man  "born,  not  made."  James 
M.  Buckley  early  gave  evidence  of  exceptional 
forensic  gifts.  Doubtless  his  inborn  genius  as 
a  debater  early  asserted  itself.  From  a  very 
early  history,  it  may  be  assumed,  he  success- 
fully used  his  logic  in  his  contentions  with  his 
guardians  and  seniors. 

His  debating  career  in  the  Alpha  Omega 
Society  of  the  Pennington  Seminary  has  been 
noted  in  a  previous  chapter.  In  the  winter  of 
1858,  when  he  was  just  past  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  and  while  in  the  class  of  1861,  in  Wes- 
leyan  University,  young  Buckley  taught  in  the 
Academy  at  Bakerville,  Connecticut.  While 
here  he  engaged  in  a  debate  the  fame  and  tradi- 

122 


DEBATER 


123 


tions  of  which  are  still  held  in  living  remem- 
brance. In  this  community  were  many  zealous 
Adventists.  It  came  to  pass  that  the  young 
teacher  was  challenged  to  debate  the  question 
"Is  the  Human  Soul  Immortal?"  His  oppo- 
nent was  a  man  imported  from  Boston,  and  in 
the  confident  expectation  that  he  would  drive 
his  antagonist  from  the  contest  overwhelmed 
with  a  sense  of  confusion  and  defeat.  This 
man  was  a  certain  Dr.  Howell,  a  physician, 
also  a  learned  man,  reputed  to  be  a  most  con- 
vincing advocate  of  Adventist  views.  The  de- 
bate was  held  in  the  largest  auditorium  to  be 
secured.  Every  session  was  crowded  to  the 
very  windows,  ministers  and  "freethinkers"  for 
many  miles  around  regularly  appearing  in  the 
audiences.  The  discussion  lasted  for  four  suc- 
cessive days,  being  conducted  from  two  until 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  It  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  embarrassment  and  defeat  did  not  ap- 
pear on  the  side  of  the  young  teacher.  His 
defense  of  the  "Immortality  of  Mind"  was  so 
ably,  so  brilliantly  conducted  as  to  make  the 
entire  event  the  proudest  and  most  memorable 
intellectual  achievement  in  the  history  of  the 
community. 

The  chief  and  significant  outcome  of  this 
debate  was  its  effect  upon  the  mind  of  the 


124  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


young  teacher  himself.  He  says:  "What 
effect  it"  (the  debate)  "produced  upon  the 
hearers  I  am  unable  to  state.  The  probability 
is  that  all  who  agreed  with  Dr.  Howell  in  the 
beginning  agreed  with  him  at  the  end,  and  that 
all  that  agreed  with  me  at  the  beginning  held 
the  same  view  at  the  close  of  the  debate.  This 
is  generally  the  result  of  debates  upon  ecclesi- 
astical and  theological  subjects.  But  the  effect 
upon  myself  was  great.  I  succeeded  in  con- 
vincing myself  that  the  soul  of  man  is  immortal, 
and  the  effect  of  that  conviction  was  to  give  me 
a  totally  different  view  of  life  from  that  which 
I  had  before  entertained.  About  that  time  an 
extraordinary  revival  of  reUgion  occurred  in 
that  and  in  adjacent  towns,  in  which,  at  the 
close  of  the  debate,  I  participated,  and  my  spir- 
itual life  was  greatly  quickened." 

Doctor  Buckley  was  transferred  from  the 
Detroit  to  the  New  York  East  Conference  in 
the  spring  of  1866.  Here  there  were  furnished 
two  especial  theaters  for  the  exercise  of  his 
forensic  ability — the  New  York  Preachers' 
Meeting  and  the  Conference  itself.  In  the 
Preachers'  Meeting  the  prowess  of  this 
"Young  Lochinvar  Come  out  of  the  West" 
was  early  put  to  the  test.  The  old  knights, 
filled  with  a  proprietary  sense  and  a  pride  of 


DEBATER 


125 


possession,  were  somewhat  slow  to  give  room 
for  this  latest  arrived  candidate  for  forensic 
honors.  In  an  hour  of  imprudent  overconfi- 
dence  they  not  only  challenged  but  provoked 
him  to  contest.  As  by  the  sudden  and  relent- 
less stroke  of  a  tornado,  the  citadel  of  their 
pride  was  broken  down,  and  the  chief  trum- 
peters thereof  were  stripped  and  flayed. 

The  New  York  East  Conference  had  won 
for  itself  wide  reputation  as  a  brilliant  debat- 
ing body.  And  now  into  its  ranks  came  this 
new  and  unknown  force.  An  entire  volume, 
and  not  without  vivid  interest,  might  be  written 
descriptive  of  debates  in  this  Conference  in 
which  young  Buckley  took  part.  And  there 
were  great  debaters  in  this  Conference,  among 
whom  were  included  such  names  as  George  W. 
Woodruff,  John  A.  Roche,  Joseph  Pullman, 
William  H.  Boole;  and,  among  later  names, 
such  as  John  Rhey  Thompson,  Charles  S. 
Wing,  and  James  S.  Chadwick.  Those  were 
the  days  of  Daniel  Curry.  He  was  tall,  mus- 
cular, strong-faced,  white-haired,  of  imperial 
intellect,  resourceful  in  knowledge,  and  utterly 
intolerant  of  any  suggestion  of  successful  ri- 
valry against  himself  in  the  leadership  of  the 
Conference.  A  Spanish  bullfight,  though 
utterly  unlike  in  its  agencies,  could  not  more 


126  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


stir  the  blood  of  the  spectators  than  did  some 
of  the  early  contests  between  Dr.  Curry  and 
the  doughty  young  Buckley  in  this  Conference. 
It  was  generally  conceded  that  in  sheer  intel- 
lectual resourcefulness  and  force  Buckley  was 
certainly  not  more  than  the  peer  of  Curry. 
But  the  younger  man  had  a  catlike  agility 
which  his  senior  did  not  possess.  He  also  had 
absolute  control  of  his  temper.  When  he  could 
not  otherwise  so  easily  win,  he  played  his  tac- 
tics on  the  older  man's  irascibility.  Dr. 
Curry's  method  might  remind  one  of  the  king 
of  the  herd  who  with  head  obliquely  lowered 
toward  the  earth  seeks  to  toss  his  enemy  upon 
his  horns.  But  the  younger  man  always  es- 
caped these  thrusts  and  lost  no  time  in  harry- 
ing his  enemy  at  the  very  flanks.  The  memory 
of  those  long-gone  days  still  awakens  a  tingling 
in  the  blood. 

Dr.  Buckley  was  first  elected  a  member  of 
the  General  Conference  for  the  session  meeting 
in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  in  1872.  He  was 
elected  a  member  of  every  subsequent  Confer- 
ence down  to  and  including  that  of  1912.  He 
thus  held  membership  in  unbroken  series  in 
eleven  of  the  legislative  congresses  of  the 
Church.  No  adequate  measurement  of  his 
power  and  influence  as  a  debating  parliamen- 


DEBATER 


127 


tarian  can  be  reached  without  an  intelhgent 
survey  of  his  membership  in  the  General  Con- 
ferences. In  these  bodies,  during  the  entire 
period  from  1872  to  1912  inclusive,  he  took  a 
foremost  rank  as  debater.  This  is  saying 
much.  The  General  Conference  is  composed 
of  the  picked  men  of  the  largest  Protestant  de- 
nomination in  America.  A  goodly  nimiber  of 
its  members,  both  clerical  and  lay,  have  earned 
the  right  to  sit  at  the  very  "Round  Table"  of 
elect  debaters.  Yet,  from  the  first.  Dr.  Buck- 
ley was  a  frequent  speaker  in  the  forefront  of 
discussion.  He  never  spoke  without  com- 
manding respectful  attention,  and,  in  a  large 
number  of  cases,  his  persuasion  gave  final  form 
to  the  action  of  the  body.  Long  before  he  had 
reached  the  middle  term  in  the  series  of  his 
General  Conference  memberships  he  was  with- 
out dissent,  and  by  common  assent,  acclaimed 
the  greatest  debater  in  Methodism,  if  not  in  the 
nation.  While  emphasizing  his  prominence  as 
a  debater  in  the  councils  of  his  own  Church,  it 
may  not  be  forgotten  that  in  this  art  he  made 
for  himself  a  nation-wide  reputation. 

His  celebrity  as  a  debater  early  earned  for 
him  a  wide  publicity  and  the  most  various  char- 
acterizations. Some  of  the  latter  were,  of 
course,  more  discriminating,  more  true  and 


128  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


just,  than  were  others.  Dr.  Charles  Park- 
hurst,  the  briUiant  and  veteran  editor  of  Zion's 
Herald,  and  between  whom  and  Dr.  Buckley- 
there  was  not  always  oneness  of  view,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  latter 's  retirement  from  official 
life  said:  "American  Methodism  has  produced 
only  one  Dr.  Buckley,  nor  is  there  another  man 
in  the  denomination  with  whom  fitly  to  com- 
pare him.  Many  will  have  it  that  as  'Master 
of  Assemblies' — as  in  the  General  Conference 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  to  which 
he  has  been  elected  for  forty  years  successively 
— he  has  shown  most  striking  superiority.  As- 
suredly, in  this  assembly  there  has  been  no 
one  to  compare  with  him.  His  perfect  self- 
mastery,  his  resourcefulness,  always  equal  to 
any  emergency,  his  strength  in  argument,  his 
unanswerable  logic,  his  sparkling  wit,  and, 
when  needed,  his  stinging  sarcasm — in  all  these 
and  many  other  qualities,  we  have  never  seen 
his  equal." 

The  Public  Ledger  of  Philadelphia,  speak- 
ing of  the  large  body  of  delegates  elected  to  the 
General  Conference,  says:  *'One  half  of  the 
membership  of  these  Conferences  consists  of  a 
learned  ministry,  and  the  other  half  of  a  laity 
which  embraces  in  its  ranks  jurists,  lawyers, 
statesmen,  some  of  them  men  of  national  repu- 


DEBATER 


129 


tation,  men  who  have  attained  distinction  in 
legislative  halls,  men  who  are  not  without  expe- 
rience in  dealing  with  large  representative 
bodies.  From  all  these  Conferences  held  dur- 
ing the  last  half  century  Dr.  Buckley  has 
emerged  easily  the  leader."  At  the  close  of 
the  General  Conference  of  1908,  the  Baltimore 
Sun,  reviewing  the  Conference,  among  other 
things  said:  "It  is  unquestioned  that  the  most 
potent  factor  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Con- 
ference was  Doctor  J.  M.  Buckley,  editor  of 
The  Christian  Advocate.  No  matter  how  fre- 
quently he  spoke,  his  voice  commanded  atten- 
tion for  three  reasons  at  least:  because  the  Con- 
ference believed  in  his  sincerity;  because  of  his 
wide  knowledge  of  the  doctrines  and  poHty 
of  the  Church ;  and  for  his  impartial  treatment 
of  every  subject  at  issue."  Dr.  Jesse  W.  Jen- 
nings, in  observations  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, says :  "Every  victory  won  by  Buckley  on 
the  Conference  floor  is  won  fairly;  he  will  ac- 
cept no  other.  .  .  .  He  is  to  a  General  Con- 
ference what  an  expert  pilot  is  to  a  vessel  feel- 
ing its  way  cautiously  through  an  untried  sea." 

The  press  notices  of  Dr.  Buckley  were  not 
all  eulogies.  There  were  many  in  the  Church 
who  thought  him  non-progressive,  the  leader 
of  forlorn  hopes.   He  was  characterized  as  the 


130  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


"Captain  of  Conservatives."  One  church  re- 
viewer says  of  him:  "Organically,  Dr.  Buckley 
is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever. 
.  .  .  The  opinions  he  held  in  1872  are  his 
opinions  in  1904.  He  is  not  troubled  as  other 
men  are  by  change  of  opinions.  He  knows 
exactly  what  he  thought  on  any  given  subject 
at  any  given  time  by  what  he  thinks  about  the 
matter  now.  He  has  had  no  psychological  mo- 
ments, no  revolution  in  sentiment  or  opinions. 
He  is  not  only  himself,  but  a  sort  of  composite 
accumulated  self.  What  he  has  been  is  fully 
involved  in  what  he  now  is."  The  Chicago 
Evening  Post  in  1893  said;  "Mr.  Buckley  is 
narrow  in  his  beliefs,  reasonings,  and  conclu- 
sions. He  permits  of  no  expansion  in  the  scope 
of  his  creed,  and,  while  his  efforts  are  char- 
acterized by  honest  conviction,  the  lenses 
through  which  he  regards  affairs  are  of  a  more 
remote  period  than  the  last  decade  of  the  nine- 
teenth century." 

Of  his  book  on  the  Wrong  and  Peril  of 
Woman  Suffrage  one  reviewer  says:  "The 
book  neither  takes  notice  of  the  modern  argu- 
ment for  woman  suffrage  nor  successfully  con- 
troverts the  old  ones.  .  .  .  The  book  may 
contribute  to  the  amusement  of  a  collector  of 
intellectual  curiosities."    Of  this  book  another 


DEBATER 


131 


says :  **Dr.  Buckley  is  a  good  man,  a  useful  and 
deeply  sincere  man,  but  his  arguments  are 
absurd." 

These  adverse  criticisms  form  a  part  of  the 
history  which  we  are  pursuing,  and  of  them 
it  is  enough,  perhaps,  to  say  that  they  but  utter 
a  protest  which  from  some  quarters  would  in- 
evitably be  expected  as  against  positions  advo- 
cated by  Dr.  Buckley.  He  debated  live  ques- 
tions, and  by  his  methods  smote  hard  against 
the  very  nerve  centers  of  the  opposition.  It  is 
to  be  observed  that  in  the  most  drastic  criti- 
cisms uttered,  their  authors  usually  reserve 
room  for  high  tribute  to  the  versatile  knowl- 
edge and  dialectical  skill  of  him  against  whom 
they  aim  their  strictures.  On  entering  the 
arena  they  prudently  notify  the  on-lookers  that 
they  are  about  to  engage  a  valiant  knight  who 
in  many  a  noted  contest  has  laid  his  foe  in  the 
sand. 

Dr.  Buckley  was  successively  a  member  of 
eleven  General  Conferences,  a  very  unusual 
number.  So  far  as  I  know,  but  three  other 
persons  in  the  entire  history  of  the  denomina- 
tion have  received  each  a  larger  number  of  elec- 
tions. George  Peck  was  a  member  of  thirteen 
Conferences;  Peter  Cartwright  the  same;  John 
Lanahan  was  a  member  of  twelve  Conferences, 


132  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


as  was  also  Joseph  M.  Trimble.  The  issues  of 
the  Daily  Advocates,  covering  the  sessions  of 
the  General  Conferences  from  1872  to  1912  in- 
clusive, furnish  large  information  concerning 
the  debating  and  parliamentary  career  of  our 
subject.  He  was  always  prominent,  but  in  the 
earlier  Conferences  he  did  not  frequently  seek 
the  floor.  It  is  equally  in  evidence  that  he  did 
not  always  carry  his  points.  He  made,  first 
and  last,  many  motions  which  were  negatived 
by  the  body.  In  the  later  Conferences  he  spoke 
with  great  frequency,  no  other  member  of  the 
body  even  approaching  him  in  the  number  of 
speeches  made.  If  explanation  were  needed 
for  this  fact,  it  would  be  furnished  largely  in 
the  functions  which  the  Conference  itself  as- 
signed to  him.  He  was  several  times  chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Rules  for  the  government 
of  the  General  Conference.  The  very  fact  that 
he  was  made  chairman  of  this  committee  is  in 
itself  proof  of  his  reputation  as  a  parliamen- 
tarian. His  work  in  the  creation  and  defense 
of  the  rules  governing  the  General  Conferences 
required  of  him  an  accurate  and  commanding 
knowledge  of  parliamentary  usages.  In  this 
special  department  he  was  never  found  want- 
ing. 

The  system  of  General  and  Annual  Confer- 


DEBATER 


133 


ences  characterizing  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  is  of  a  kind  to  develop  great  parhamen- 
tarians.  No  presiding  position  in  church  or  in 
state  calls  for  more  expert  mastery  of  the  par- 
liamentary art  than  is  required  of  the  Meth- 
odist bishop.  Some  of  these  administrative 
officers  have  reached  the  very  ne  plus  ultra  of 
the  art.  But  in  real  knowledge,  and  instant 
apprehension,  of  legitimate  parliamentary 
practice  no  one  in  any  General  Conference 
has  shown  himself  more  expert  than  Dr. 
Buckley.  His  absolute  knowledge  of  his 
own  parliamentary  rights  was  no  small  factor 
in  giving  him  commanding  place  in  Methodist 
legislation. 

In  the  General  Conference  at  Omaha,  an 
amusing  and  memorable  incident  occurred. 
Bishop  Fowler  was  presiding.  Dr.  Buckley, 
having  already  taken  some  time  on  the  main 
question  before  the  house,  the  previous  ques- 
tion now  having  been  called  for,  feeling  that  he 
had  been  misrepresented  by  Dr.  Neely,  arose 
to  a  personal  privilege.  Several  attempts  were 
made  to  prevent  his  speaking  with  which  the 
bishop  evidently  sympathized,  but  the  Doctor, 
knowing  his  rights,  insisted  and  finally  the 
bishop  was  forced  to  give  him  the  floor.  Dr. 
Buckley  instantly  and  facetiously  remarked, 


134  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


"The  psalmist  promises  that  we  shall  be  de- 
livered 'from  the  snare  of  the  fowler.'  "  As 
instantly  Bishop  Fowler  responded,  "He  also 
says  that  we  shall  be  delivered  'from  the  noi- 
some pestilence.'  "  Whereupon  the  Confer- 
ence, as  against  all  its  rules,  broke  forth  into 
an  unrestrained  tumult  of  laughter  and  ap- 
plause. 

In  the  General  Conference  of  1880,  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  draft  an  "Ecclesias- 
tical Code."  Of  this  committee  Dr.  Buckley 
was  made  chairman.  Here  again  was  an  occa- 
sion which  called  for  a  full  and  critical  expres- 
sion of  his  expert  knowledge.  At  two  succes- 
sive Conferences,  those  of  1884  and  1888,  he 
was  made  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Itin- 
erancy, in  every  way  one  of  the  most  important 
of  the  standing  committees.  It  was  his  duty  as 
chairman  to  expound  and  to  defend  the  reports 
of  this  committee  before  the  Conference.  In 
the  course  of  the  two  Conferences  in  question 
twenty-four  of  this  committee's  reports  were 
adopted. 

For  five  successive  Conferences,  beginning 
with  1892,  he  was  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Episcopacy.  His  duties  here  involved  him 
in  the  most  delicate  relations,  such  as  the  retire- 
ment of  ineffective  bishops,  the  hearing  of  com- 


DEBATER  135 


plaints  against  bishops  for  alleged  maladminis- 
tration or  on  other  grounds,  the  number  of 
bishops  to  be  elected,  the  assignment  of  epis- 
copal residences,  and  many  other  allied  ques- 
tions. There  is  no  committee  of  the  General 
Conference  concerning  whose  functions  the 
body  as  a  whole  is  more  sensitive  than  this 
Committee  on  Episcopacy.  TsTo  man  in  the 
General  Conference,  including  the  bishops 
themselves,  is  charged  with  more  delicate  or 
difficult  responsibility  than  is  the  chairman  of 
this  committee.  His  duties  call  for  knowledge, 
insight,  wisdom,  tactfulness,  courage,  firmness, 
kindliness.  A  review  of  the  five  General  Con- 
ferences in  question  justifies  the  judgment  that 
Dr.  Buckley  showed  himself  in  command  of  all 
these  qualities  in  exceptionally  high  measure. 
In  the  course  of  these  Conferences  sixty-seven 
reports  as  presented  by  this  committee  were 
adopted.  It  is  obvious  that,  as  growing  out  of 
his  duties  alone  as  chairman  of  committees,  his 
voice  would  of  necessity  be  frequently  heard  on 
the  floor  of  the  General  Conference. 

It  is  impracticable  in  this  narrative  to  give 
anything  like  a  detailed  description  of  Dr. 
Buckley's  speeches  in  the  various  General  Con- 
ferences. Full  statement  of  them  all  would  fill 
a  large  volume.   It  would  be  a  mistake  to  as- 


136  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


sume  that  he  seldom  spoke  except  when  in  dis- 
charge of  his  duties  as  a  committee  chairman. 
He  had  the  habit,  a  habit  which  he  never  sought 
to  disguise,  and  for  which  he  never  apologized, 
of  asking  for  the  floor  whenever  he  felt  that  he 
could  contribute  a  fact  or  an  idea  promotive  of 
a  wiser  direction  or  action  of  the  General  Con- 
ference itself.  His  knowledge  was  so  perfect, 
his  mind  so  alert,  his  apprehension  of  a  situa- 
tion so  instantaneous,  his  habit  of  discussion  so 
insistent,  as  to  give  him  irresistible  prompting 
to  frequency  of  speech. 

Notable  among  his  speeches  was  that  deliv- 
ered, in  one  of  the  greatest  of  historic  debates, 
in  the  General  Conference  of  1876,  against 
electing  presiding  elders.  In  the  Conference 
of  1880  he  made  a  great  speech  on  the  reunion 
of  Methodism.  These  were  among  his  earlier 
Conferences.  In  all  the  subsequent  Confer- 
ences it  may  safely  be  said  that  no  proposition 
as  affecting  the  life  of  the  Church  was  ever  pre- 
sented concerning  which  his  voice  was  not 
heard,  either  for  or  against.  He  made  exceed- 
ingly able  speeches  on  such  subjects  as  "Plac- 
ing the  Support  of  the  Bishops  on  the  Entire 
Church";  on  the  "Time  Limit";  on  "Equal 
Lay  Representation";  on  the  "Admission  of 
Women  to  the  General  Conference";  on  the 


DEBATER 


137 


"Constitution  of  the  Church";  on  the  "Deacon- 
ess Work";  on  the  question  of  "Bishops  for 
Races."  Aside  from  the  larger  questions,  he 
was  frequently  heard  upon  other  subjects,  so 
much  so  that  the  Conference  was  sometimes 
facetiously  reported  as  "Dr.  Buckley  in  Ses- 
sion." It  may  be  doubted  whether  any  other 
American  Methodist  has  ever  lived  who  could 
have  spoken  so  often,  so  interestingly,  and  with 
such  welcome  as  was  true  of  him  throughout  his 
General  Conference  career.  He  is  reported  as 
having  taken  the  floor  seven  hundred  times  in 
a  single  General  Conference.  This  is  undoubt- 
edly an  exaggeration,  a  kind  of  hyperbole  em- 
ployed to  give  due  prominence  to  a  general 
fact.  His  recognized  sanity,  however,  bulked 
so  large  as  to  give  him  always  a  respectful,  if 
not  an  eager,  hearing. 

One  of  the  Chicago  dailies  reports  a  colored 
delegate  to  the  Conference  of  1900  as  saying: 
"Dat  air  Brudder  Buckley  am  de  mos'  omnib- 
erous  critter  I  ever  see!  He  jes'  dips  inter 
eberyting!  He  seems  to  think  de  Ark  ob  de 
Lord  would  all  go  ter  kersmash  if  he  didn't 
stiddy  it!  I  am  jes'  dead  tired  ob  dat  chile's 
gobble,  I  am!  Next  time  we  will  have  to  call 
dis  *de  Buckley  General  Conference.'  "  This 
may  perhaps  serve  as  a  typical  example  of  an 


138  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


occasional  impatience  with  Dr.  Buckley's  much 
speaking. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  his  conservative 
tendencies.  Nothing  is  perhaps  more  enig- 
matical to  his  closest  observers  than  his  uniform 
conservatism  of  expression  throughout  his 
entire  official  career.  In  his  earlier  hfe  he 
seemed  to  carry  within  himself  all  the  aptitudes 
of  a  born  radical.  If  full  play  had  been  given 
to  these  aptitudes,  it  can  be  little  doubted  that 
in  the  character  of  a  free  lance  he  would  have 
made  a  career  not  less  brilliant  than  the  one 
which  he  has  really  achieved.  I  must  believe 
that  the  conservatism  which  has  characterized 
his  official  history  is  largely  the  outgrowth  of 
his  acquired  habits  as  a  constitutional  lawyer. 
He  early  came  to  feel  himself  as  greatly  re- 
sponsible for  defending  the  Church  on  its  his- 
toric basis.  His  dominant  habit  of  mind  has 
not  always  shown  itself  compatible  with  the 
temperament  of  the  seer.  It  has  hence  resulted 
that  the  expanding  Church  has  remanded  to 
the  rear  several  important  historic  usages  for 
the  retention  of  which  Dr.  Buckley  stoutly  con- 
tended. The  removal  of  the  "Time  Limit," 
the  "Eligibility  of  Women  to  Membership  in 
the  General  Conference,"  the  use  of  the  "Indi- 
vidual Communion  Cup,"  are  among  questions 


DEBATER 


139 


to  which  he  gave  no  hospitality,  but  which  are 
now  engrafted  into  the  living  usages  of  the 
Church,  and,  so  far  as  can  be  seen,  without 
detriment  to  the  efficiency  of  the  Church  itself. 
Dr.  Buckley  is  a  good  loser.  It  is  much  to  his 
credit  to  say  that  when  the  Church  officially 
embodies  into  its  usages  a  measure  which  he 
himself  has  definitely  opposed,  he  considers  the 
question  settled,  and  himself  accepts  the  result 
in  a  spirit  of  philosophical  equanimity. 

Dr.  Buckley  early  won  for  himself  the 
premiership  of  debaters  in  any  deliberative  as- 
sembly of  which  he  was  a  member.  The  Ecu- 
menical Conferences  of  Methodism  are  made 
up  of  picked  men  from  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
Concerning  his  relations  to  the  Conference  held 
in  Washington  in  1891,  an  accredited  corre- 
spondent of  The  Methodist,  of  Sydney,  Aus- 
tralia, said  this:  "He  is  the  mighty  man  of 
valor,  who  can  step  into  the  arena  at  any  mo- 
ment and  do  battle  with  a  dexterity  and  force 
which  few  of  the  enemies  of  the  Church  care  to 
provoke,  while  his  influence  in  shaping  the 
policy  and  inspiring  the  enterprises  of  his  de- 
nomination is  greater  perhaps,  than  that  of 
any  man  within  its  bounds.  ...  I  was  intro- 
duced to  this  remarkable  man  at  the  Ecu- 
menical Conference  of  1891,  in  the  city  of 


140  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


Washington,  and  in  the  shght  intercourse  I  had 
with  him  I  found  him  as  genial  and  friendly  in 
private  as  he  was  brilhant  and  able  on  the  floor 
of  the  Conference.  .  .  .  Other  men  of  distinc- 
tion were  there:  William  Arthur,  possessing 
both  genius  and  saintliness;  Dr.  Douglas,  the 
pride  of  the  Canadian  Church;  Hugh  Price 
Hughes,  with  his  vast  debating  power;  and 
many  others  of  world-wide  reputation,  but  on 
all  hands  Dr.  Buckley  was  regarded  as  the 
Nestor  of  the  Conference." 

A  United  States  senator,  who  had  frequent 
opportunity  of  observing  Dr.  Buckley  in  de- 
bate, declared  that  if  he  were  in  the  Senate,  he 
would  easily  become  the  most  conspicuous 
leader  of  the  body.  Our  age  has  probably 
known  no  more  resourceful  debater.  He  was 
like  a  man  armed  on  all  sides  with  all  weapons 
needed  for  use  in  the  arena.  With  instant 
dexterity  he  could  lay  hold  upon  any  device 
or  argument  needed  at  the  moment,  and  woe 
be  to  the  man  who  had  provoked  the  machine- 
gun  fire  of  his  sarcasm.  It  must  be  said,  how- 
ever, that  his  habitual  method  in  debate  was  on 
a  high  and  fair-minded  plane.  He  was  singu- 
larly free  from  personal  animosities.  He  was 
fearless  of  any  possible  effect  of  his  positions 
upon  his  personal  fortunes.    He  saw  things 


DEBATER 


141 


clearly,  and  without  reference  to  individual 
consequences  to  himself  or  to  others,  he  argued 
for  what  he  sincerely  believed  was  for  the  right 
and  best.  He  will  enter  the  arena  no  more.  It 
now  seems  altogether  probable  that  he  will 
have  no  immediate  successor.  Of  all  the  Meth- 
odist hosts  of  his  day,  he  wore  worthily  and  un- 
challenged the  crown  as  "King  of  Debaters." 


CHAPTER  VII 


TRAVELER 

Doctor  Buckley  has  traveled  widely  at 
home  and  abroad.  Throughout  his  profes- 
sional career,  as  preacher,  lecturer,  tourist, 
pedestrian,  he  has  visited  nearly  every  point  of 
interest  within  the  United  States  and  its  Terri- 
tories and  also  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 

The  following  statements  will  furnish  some 
index  of  his  travels  in  his  own  country.  It  may 
serve  the  purpose  of  some  readers  if  the  time 
of  pubhcation  of  letters  now  mentioned  is 
stated.  All  the  letters  indicated  appeared  in 
order  in  The  Christian  Advocate  as  follows: 
In  1882,  many  letters  under  the  caption  "Edi- 
tor's Travels";  in  1885,  "Tour  in  Two  States 
and  a  Foreign  Country";  in  1886,  twelve  let- 
ters imder  "A  New  Invasion  of  the  South"; 
four  more  on  "Summer  Journeys  for  Business 
or  Recreation";  in  1887,  seven  articles  on 
"Rolling  Over  the  Continent";  in  1888,  four 
letters  on  "Sketches  of  a  Journey  Toward  the 
Sun" ;  in  1892,  eight  letters  mostly  on  "Denver 
and  Colorado";  in  1893,  five  letters,  "Notes  of 

142 


TRAVELER 


143 


a  Zigzag  Tour";  in  1894,  thirty-four  articles 
on  "Over  the  Border,"  "Westward  Ho!" 
"Capital  of  Manitoba,"  "Through  Alaska," 
"Yellowstone  Park";  in  1895,  four  letters  on 
"Beyond  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri";  in 
1897,  eleven  letters  on  "A  Trip  Through  the 
South";  in  1899,  several  letters  on  "Glimpses 
of  Tennessee";  in  1901,  eleven  letters  on 
"Southwestward  Ho!";  in  1903,  eleven  letters 
on  "My  Summer  in  the  South";  in  1904,  a 
series  on  "Los  Angeles  to  Salt  Lake  City,"  also 
on  the  "World's  Fair" ;  in  1906,  thirteen  letters 
altogether  on  "The  Maritime  Provinces  of 
Canada"  and  "The  Great  State  of  Illinois." 
Of  our  editor's  travels  in  his  own  country.  The 
Christian  Advocate  alone  has  published  more 
than  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  full  articles, 
enough  matter  for  several  sizable  volumes,  and 
all  of  which  even  now  would  furnish  interesting 
reading.  But  these  letters  cover  only  a  part, 
however  large,  of  the  history  of  his  American 
travels. 

From  this  summary  of  travels  in  his  own 
country  we  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  for- 
eign tours  of  which  this  chapter  principally 
treats.  His  first  voyage  to  Europe  occurred  in 
1863,  when  he  was  in  his  twenty-seventh  year. 
He  had  now  completed  a  two  years'  pastorate 


144  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


in  the  city  of  Manchester,  New  Hampshire. 
The  condition  of  his  health  was  most  precarious. 
He  decided  to  take  this  trip  for,  "Rest,  Change 
of  Climate,  Improvement  of  Health,  and  En- 
largement of  Outlook."  The  time  was  midway 
in  the  "Civil  War."  By  his  patriotic  speeches 
he  had  already  gained  a  celebrity  which  drew  to 
him  the  eyes  of  national  leaders,  including  Mr. 
Lincoln.  He  went  carrying  letters  of  indorse- 
ment from  Horace  Greeley;  Charles  Sumner, 
who  at  that  time  was  chairman  of  the  Senate 
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  Daniel  Clark, 
United  States  senator  from  New  Hampshire. 
The  governor  of  the  State  also  gave  him  a 
letter  of  indorsement  bearing  the  State  Seal. 
These  letters  were  addressed  to  certain  mem- 
bers of  the  British  Parhament,  and  certified  to 
Mr.  Buckley's  fitness  "to  explain  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  so  far  as  it  affected 
the  Civil  War." 

During  this  tour  he  visited  England,  Scot- 
land, Wales,  Ireland,  Holland,  Belgium, 
France,  Germany,  and  Switzerland.  His  stay 
among  the  Alps  was  so  beneficial  as  to  impress 
him  that  he  had  entirely  recovered  his  health. 
His  published  notes  of  this  trip  are  more  espe- 
cially confined  to  England.  During  his  stay 
here  he  held  intimate  interviews  with  several 


TRAVELER 


145 


representative  ministerial  associations,  and  de- 
livered addresses  on  the  "Civil  War."  His 
visit  to  England  was  simultaneous  with  that  of 
Henry  Ward  Beecher.  On  that  memorable 
night  in  Liverpool  when  the  mob  undertook  to 
silence  Mr.  Beecher,  Buckley  sat  upon  the 
platform  not  more  than  six  feet  away  from  the 
speaker.  Of  this  scene  he  published  a  vivid  de- 
scription years  after  in  the  Century  Magazine. 
It  is  his  declaration  that  "Henry  Ward 
Beecher  that  night  achieved  a  marvelous  tri- 
imiph  of  eloquence  and  wit  over  intellectual 
drunkenness,  and  in  some  instances  physical 
drunkenness." 

Of  this  trip  nothing  is  perhaps  more  interest- 
ing than  his  notes  on  several  celebrities  whom 
he  either  directly  met  or  observed.  Of  preach- 
ers he  repeatedly  heard  Spurgeon,  whom  he 
rates  as  "one  of  the  most  successful  preachers 
and  pastors  combined,  in  the  history  of 
Enghsh-speaking  Christianity."  He  heard 
Punshon  when  he  was  at  the  "height  of  his 
rhetorical  glory."  He  heard  Dean  Stanley, 
"calm  and  co^nprehensive" ;  Joseph  Parker, 
then  a  young  "thunderbolt" ;  and  he  was  priv- 
ileged to  hear  the  famous  Guthrie  in  his  church 
at  Edinburgh.  In  music,  he  heard  the  great 
pianist    Thalberg,    Jenny    Lind,  Madame 


146  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


Alboni,  and  Parepa,  artists  of  world-wide 
reputation. 

In  several  visits  to  the  House  of  Parliament 
he  looked  upon  the  faces  of  Gladstone,  John 
Bright,  and  Richard  Cobden.  He  listened  to 
speeches  from  Lords  Russell,  Palmerston,  and 
Brougham,  and,  not  least,  from  Disraeh.  He 
describes  an  interesting  observation  of  Tenny- 
son. He  was  requested  by  the  New  York 
Independent  to  secure  an  interview  with  the 
poet,  and  to  write  it  up  for  the  paper.  The 
poet  was  away  when  the  interview  was  sought, 
but  one  day  when  visiting  the  South  Kensing- 
ton Museum,  Buckley  observed  a  party  con- 
sisting of  a  gentleman,  two  ladies,  and  two  chil- 
dren, to  whom  the  caretaker  seemed  to  pay 
great  deference.  On  inquiry  he  found  that  this 
man  was  the  poet  Tennyson.  Following  him 
at  a  proper  distance,  he  noted  that  the  man  had 
apparently  not  spoken  a  single  word  for  more 
than  an  hour.  At  last  the  poet,  turning  to  one 
of  the  ladies  as  though  about  to  speak,  Buckley 
drew  gently  near,  only  to  hear  "these  never-to- 
be-forgotten  words":  "You  hold  the  children 
while  I  get  a  glass  of  beer." 

These  were  before  the  days  of  the  Atlantic 
cable.  The  transmission  of  news  was  slow,  and 
many  waited  with  impatient  eagerness  tidings 


TRAVELER 


147 


from  across  the  seas.  In  London,  Junius 
Morgan,  the  father  of  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  on 
Mr.  Buckley's  arrival  in  England,  most  cour- 
teously, but  earnestly,  extracted  from  him  all 
he  knew  of  men  and  things  at  the  time  of  his 
sailing  from  New  York.  On  his  return,  after 
a  six  months'  absence,  the  directors  of  Plv- 
mouth  Chm*ch  invited  him  to  preach  and  to 
describe  the  scene  of  the  Liverpool  mob.  On 
this  occasion  Theodore  Tilton,  then  in  high 
favor  in  church  and  state,  as  Mr.  Beecher  had 
now  exhausted  the  time  for  which  the  Church 
had  authorized  his  absence,  offered  a  resolu- 
tion of  which  the  following  is  in  part  a  copy: 
''Whereas,  also  he  is  doing  his  country  immeas- 
urable good,  be  it  Resolved,  That  he  may  re- 
main so  long  as  he  considers  himself  to  be  pro- 
moting the  purpose  for  which  he  went  abroad 
at  this  time."  This  resolution,  of  course,  re- 
received  the  unanimous  support  of  the  congre- 
gation. 

Dr.  Buckley's  second  trip  to  Europe  oc- 
curred in  1881,  when  he  went  abroad  as  a  dele- 
gate to  the  Ecumenical  Methodist  Conference 
held  that  year  in  the  city  of  London.  The 
influential  part  which  he  himself  took  in  the 
proceedings  of  this  Conference  is  set  forth  in 
the  volume  giving  a  verbatim  report  of  all 


148  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


speeches  and  a  full  history  of  this  convention 
of  world-Methodism.  Many  incidents  of  this 
trip  are  also  most  interestingly  presented  in 
a  series  of  nine  letters  published  in  The  Chris- 
tian Advocate  from  September  to  December, 
in  1881.  As  this  was  the  period  when  the  Eng- 
lish ecclesiastical  world  was  much  stirred  by  the 
trial  of  Doctor  Robertson  Smith,  his  case,  as 
also  certain  "English  Traits,"  were  luminously 
discussed  in  these  letters. 

On  the  19th  day  of  June,  1884,  Dr.  Buckley, 
accompanied  by  his  stepson,  Mr.  Samuel 
Staples,  then  a  young  man  of  eighteen  years, 
embarked  on  the  S.  S.  Baltic  for  his  third  trip 
to  Europe.  This  trip,  while  in  transit  it  in- 
cluded Liverpool,  London,  Holland,  Cologne, 
the  Rhine,  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  Dresden, 
Berlin,  and  Hambm^g,  had  for  its  chief  objec- 
tive a  thorough  tour  of  the  northern  coimtries 
of  Europe,  including  Denmark,  Norway, 
Sweden  and  Russia.  At  Hamburg,  if  not 
earlier,  the  party  was  joined  by  Mr.  Charles 
E.  Hendrickson,  an  American  lawyer.  In  the 
northern  countries  named  a  journey  of  about 
ten  thousand  miles  was  taken.  Close  observa- 
tions were  made  of  their  cities,  arts,  their  social, 
educational,  and  religious  customs,  their  nat- 
ural resources,  and,  indeed,  of  all  the  salient 


TRAVELER 


149 


features  entering  into  their  civilizations.  A 
history,  in  part,  of  this  trip  appeared  under  the 
heading  "Letters  From  Europe,"  thirty-six  in 
all,  appearing  in  The  Christian  Advocate  from 
August  7,  1884,  to  April  16,  1885.  The 
journey  as  a  whole  is  graphically  and  instruc- 
tively narrated  in  the  book.  The  Midnight  Sun, 
The  Tsar  and  the  Nihilist  as  published  by  D. 
Lothrop  &  Co.,  in  1886. 

In  preparing  this  book  he  expresses  the  hope 
of  imparting  "to  such  as  has  never  seen 
those  countries  as  clear  a  view  as  can  be  ob- 
tained from  reading,  and  to  aid  those  who  con- 
template a  similar  journey  to  prepare  for  it. 
Besides,  I  wish  to  show  those  who  find  the 
beaten  track  of  travel  monotonous  that  the 
north  of  Europe  may  give  them  new  sensations 
and  valuable  information."  The  book  remains 
to  this  day  a  most  interesting  narrative  of 
travels  in  countries  which  are  not  even  now 
familiar  to  general  tourists.  In  addition  to  a 
description  of  travels,  our  author  embodies  in 
four  elaborate  chapters  his  impressions  of 
Nihilism,  a  cult  which  for  many  recent  years 
has  carried  in  itself  a  tragic  menace  against 
Russian  civilization.  While  it  is  probably  true 
that  no  modern  civilization  is  characterized  by 
more  rapid  changes,  none  by  more  hopeful 


150  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


strides  of  progress,  than  is  true  of  Russia,  and 
while  consequently  many  things  now  are  much 
different  from  what  they  were  at  a  period  even 
as  recent  as  the  writing  of  Dr.  Buckley's  book, 
yet  it  may  be  confidently  stated  that  few  books, 
within  its  scope,  are  more  illuminating  of  its 
subject  than  is  the  one  here  under  considera- 
tion. 

Our  author's  paragraphs  on  the  "Contrasts 
Between  Russia  and  the  United  States"  are 
such  as  to  enhance  in  the  bosom  of  every  Amer- 
ican reader  an  exalted  and  grateful  sense  of  his 
privileges  of  citizenship.  These  statements  of 
contrast  are  in  part  as  follows : 

"Russia  and  the  United  States  resemble  each 
other  in  the  vastness  of  their  territory,  in  the 
size  and  number  of  their  rivers,  in  their  modern 
origin  as  nations,  in  the  gigantic  character  of 
their  undertakings,  in  population  and  its  wide 
diffusion,  and  in  variety  of  mineral  and  agri- 
cultural products.  They  also  resemble  each 
other  in  the  vastness  of  their  prairies,  the  ex- 
tent of  their  forests,  their  immense  mineral  re- 
sources, and  in  having  every  variety  of  climate. 
Politically,  they  are  similar  in  being  the  two 
great  nations  of  which  other  powers  are  suspi- 
cious and  jealous,  and,  growing  out  of  this  fact, 
in  having  sympathy  with  each  other. 


TRAVELER 


151 


"In  America  religion  is  free;  in  Russia, 
theoretically,  it  is  not  free.  Though  dissent  is 
tolerated,  it  is  greatly  embarrassed. 

"In  Russia  the  great  majority  of  the  people 
are  wretchedly  poor;  in  America  the  great 
majority  are  in  comfortable  circumstances,  and 
only  a  small  minority  miserably  poor. 

"In  Russia  public  opinion  has  little  or  no 
power ;  in  America  it  is  almost  omnipotent.  In 
the  United  States  all  public  matters  are  dis- 
cussed without  restriction,  and  no  censorship 
of  the  press  exists.  In  Russia  anything  worthy 
the  name  of  discussion  is  unknown,  and  a 
frightful  censorship  of  the  press  still  continues 
to  be.  In  the  United  States  a  high  degree  of 
mercantile  honor  yet  prevails;  in  Russia  it  is 
the  exception. 

"In  Russia  nothing  relating  to  the  general 
administration  of  affairs  is  subject  to  a  con- 
trolling vote.  There  is  nothing  analogous  to 
a  legislature."  ( Since  the  writing  of  the  above 
and  following  "contrasts,"  the  Czar  of  Russia, 
on  August  19,  1905,  issued  a  manifesto  an- 
nouncing the  formation  of  a  representative 
Duma,  "to  take  a  constant  and  active  part  in 
the  elaboration  of  laws."  On  the  30th  of  the 
following  October  he  signed  a  constitution 
granting  to  the  people  the  foundations  of  civic 


152  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


liberty,  and  establishing  a  rule  that  no  law 
should  come  into  operation  without  the  consent 
of  the  state  Duma.  At  the  time  of  this  final 
writing,  in  correction  of  proofs,  events  are 
moving  rapidly  in  Russia.  The  Czar  has  abdi- 
cated. The  entire  country  is  tossed  in  the  throes 
of  revolution.  The  participation  of  Russia 
in  the  great  war  seems  to  have  collapsed. 
The  governmental  affairs  of  the  country 
in  general  are  so  chaotic  as  to  render  all  predic- 
tions for  the  future  mere  guesses,  and  most  un- 
certain.— G.  P.  M.)  "The  four  great  councils 
can  accomplish  nothing  without  the  consent  of 
the  Emperor.  In  the  United  States  the  will  of 
the  people  is  the  last  authority.  In  Russia  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  is  unknown ;  the  personal 
liberty  of  the  citizen  is  at  the  caprice  of  the 
authorities.  In  the  United  States  individual 
liberty  is  granted  to  every  man  not  a  pauper,  a 
lunatic,  or  a  criminal.  And  a  legal  and  public 
investigation  of  charges  against  him  is  his 
indefeasible  right. 

"In  the  United  States  dissatisfaction  with 
the  administration  is  followed  by  its  overthrow 
at  the  polls.  In  Russia  dissatisfaction  with  the 
government  has  no  legitimate  means  of  ex- 
pressing itself." 

Of  Dr.  Buckley  s  six  journeys  to  Europe, 


TRAVELER 


153 


the  fourth  was  the  most  elaborate,  and  possibly 
the  most  interesting,  of  all.  This  extended 
tour  began  by  embarkation  from  New  York, 
on  November  21, 1888,  and  ended  by  return  to 
the  point  of  original  departure  in  the  latter 
part  of  May,  1889.  The  traveler  had  now 
clearly  acquired  for  himself  a  national  reputa- 
tion. He  was  decorated  with  the  highest  titles 
of  the  learned  world.  It  would  be  superfluous 
to  attempt  any  detailed  description  of  the  long 
and  far  journey  now  taken.  A  most  instruc- 
tive and  luminous  narrative  of  his  experiences 
and  observations  in  all  the  lands  visited  is  fur- 
nished in  his  large  volume.  Travels  in  Three 
Continents. 

Narratives  of  foreign  travel  have,  in  the 
recent  years,  greatly  multiplied.  Some  of 
these  are  of  exceeding  merit.  It  may  be  ques- 
tioned, however,  whether  any  record  of  travels 
in  lands  and  among  peoples  described  in  the 
above-named  book  can  be  said  to  be  more  in- 
structive, more  vivid,  or  characterized  by  a 
more  discerning  insight  into  conditions  ob- 
served, than  as  set  forth  in  this  volume.  Of 
this  book,  Paul  DuChaillu,  the  famous  ex- 
plorer, said:  "It  is  the  one  book  of  foreign 
travels  which  I  find  reliable,  satisfactory,  and 
most  free  from  error  of  statement." 


154  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


On  this  journey  the  traveler  passed  hastily, 
though  not  without  making  interesting  notes 
by  the  way,  from  London  to  Paris,  and  thence 
to  an  extended  tour  of  observation  in  Spain. 
His  descriptions  of  Spanish  scenery,  art,  and 
architecture,  his  delineations  of  historic  scenes, 
of  eminent  national  characters,  his  photo- 
graphic portrayals  of  the  Spanish  people,  their 
common  life  and  customs — all  are  of  unusual 
interest,  not  simply  because  they  are  set  forth 
with  artistic  power,  but  also  because  the  objects 
described  lie  largely  outside  the  beaten  paths  of 
observation. 

On  Christmas  afternoon  our  traveler  sailed 
through  the  Bay  of  Malaga,  taking  a  south- 
west course  in  the  Mediterranean.  After  stop- 
ping briefly  at  unimportant  points,  the  steamer 
arrived  on  the  second  day  in  the  Bay  of  Tan- 
gier s,  in  Africa,  a  harbor  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.  From  Tangiers  we 
trace  the  itinerary  by  turns  to  Gibraltar,  to 
Algeria,  thence  northward  again  to  Marseilles, 
and  in  order  to  Genoa,  Milan,  Venice,  Flor- 
ence, Rome,  Naples,  Vesuvius,  and  Pompeii. 
On  the  morning  of  February  4,  our  party 
sailed  from  Brindisi  for  Alexandria,  a  point 
reached  "after  four  days  of  fine  weather  and 
smooth  seas."    He  was  in  Egypt,  the  land 


TRAVELER 


155 


which  Herodotus,  writing  B.  C.  456,  described 
as  "the  cradle  of  history  and  of  human  cul- 
ture." He  said  of  Egypt:  "It  contains  more 
wonders  than  any  other  land,  and  is  prominent 
above  all  the  countries  in  the  world  for  works 
that  one  can  hardly  describe."  "When  Gen- 
eral Grant,  after  his  tour  around  the  world, 
met  Andrew  D.  White,  ex-president  of  Cornell 
University,  he  said  to  him,  *After  Egypt  there 
is  nothing.'  "  In  this  land  of  ancient  wonders 
Dr.  Buckley  took  time  to  visit  the  great  cities, 
the  Pyramids,  the  Sphinx,  the  ruins  of  temples, 
the  desert,  and  for  traversing  the  Nile  to  the 
"First  Cataract." 

Departing  from  Egypt,  he  left  Cairo  by 
train  which  bore  him  along  the  skirts  of  the 
Arabian  desert  to  Ismailia  on  the  Suez  Canal. 
Hence  he  went  by  the  Canal  to  Port  Said, 
where  he  took  steamer  for  Syria,  thus  taking 
final  leave  of  Africa.  He  was  now  approach- 
ing the  shores  of  a  land  forever  sacred  in  the 
traditions  and  records  of  three  great  religions 
— ^Judaism,  Christianity,  and  Mohammedan- 
ism. Disembarking  at  Jaffa,  the  scene  of 
many  New  Testament  incidents,  a  city  which 
as  late  as  1799  was  stormed  by  the  forces  of 
Napoleon,  he  went  by  carriage  across  the 
plains  of  Sharon  to  Jerusalem.   When  in  the 


156  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


evening  he  first  saw  the  hghts  in  the  suburbs  of 
the  ancient  city,  he  describes  his  feelings  as 
follows:  "It  was  a  moment  of  delight,  of  solem- 
nity, of  sublimity.  For  of  it  the  greatest  of  the 
kings  of  Israel  said,  'If  I  forget  thee,  let  my 
right  hand  forget  her  cunning.'  To  it  the  Son 
of  God  said:  *0  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  .  .  . 
how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children 
together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens 
under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not!'  And  it 
became  a  type  of  heaven,  for  Paul  said,  'Jeru- 
salem which  is  above  is  free,  which  is  the  mother 
of  us  all.'  And  John  saw  in  the  spirit  'that 
great  city,  the  holy  Jerusalem,  descending  out 
of  heaven  from  God.'  And  I  stood  at  the 
gates  of  Jerusalem." 

Our  traveler  remained  in  Jerusalem  and  its 
environments  a  sufficient  time  to  permit  him  to 
review  every  location  in  its  relations  to  bib- 
lical history  as  set  forth  in  both  the  Old  and 
the  New  Testament  narratives.  In  going  to 
Palestine  it  was  his  purpose  "to  visit  every 
sacred  spot  in  the  manner  best  adapted  to  allow 
close  examination,  vivid  impression,  and  the 
greatest  amount  of  familiarity  with  the  people 
and  country." 

In  departing  from  Jerusalem  he  leisurely 
pursued  his  way  northward  past  the  sites  of 


TRAVELER 


157 


ancient  Bethel,  Shiloh,  Mount  Gerizim;  thence 
through  the  historic  scenes  of  Samaria,  cross- 
ing the  great  plains,  which,  in  general,  pass 
under  the  name  Esdraelon,  into  Galilee,  that 
province  "which  binds  together  so  many  of  the 
most  holy  memories  of  our  race."  ^  Here  he 
visited  Nain,  Mount  Tabor,  Nazareth,  Tiberias 
and  Capernaum  on  the  shores  of  the  "Sea  of 
Galilee,"  and  thence  by  Mount  Hermon  to 
Damascus.  Of  this  city.  Dr.  George  Adam 
Smith  in  his  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy 
Land  says:  "We  have  met  her  fame  every- 
where. She  has  seen  the  rise,  felt  the  effect,  and 
survived  the  passage  of  all  the  forces  which 
have  strewn  Syria  with  ruins.  There  is  not  a 
fallen  city  we  have  visited  but  Damascus  was 
old  when  it  was  built,  and  still  flourishes  long 
after  it  has  perished.  Amid  the  growth  and 
decay  of  the  races,  civilizations,  and  religions 
which  have  thronged  Syria  for  4,000  years, 
Damascus  has  remained  the  one  perennially 
great  Syrian  city." 

From  Damascus  Dr.  Buckley  went  by 
the  Lebanon  Pass  to  Beirut.  Thence  visiting 
the  islands  of  Cyprus,  Rhodes,  and  sailing  past 
Patmos  and  other  points  of  interest,  especially 
as  mentioned  in  the  travels  of  Saint  Paul,  he 

^  George  Adam  Smith,  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land. 


158  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


disembarked  at  Smyrna.  Having  visited 
Smyrna  and  Ephesus  in  Asia  Minor,  he  took 
final  leave  of  Asia,  passing  on  to  Athens,  Cor- 
inth, and  Constantinople,  thence  hastily  push- 
ing his  way  through  Eastern  Roumelia,  Bul- 
garia, Servia,  Hungary  and  Vienna,  to  Paris 
and  New  York.  He  was  absent  from  his 
native  land  a  little  more  than  six  months.  On 
returning  home  he  takes  occasion  to  express 
his  feelings  in  the  following  quotation: 

"Stay,  stay  at  home,  my  heart,  and  rest; 
Home-keeping  hearts  are  happiest." 

In  attempting  to  trace  only  in  broad  out- 
line this  famous  itinerary  the  impracticability 
of  giving  much  detail  of  the  varied  and  inspir- 
ing interest  awakened  by  the  author's  own 
elaborated  narrations  of  his  observations  and 
experiences,  is,  of  course,  obvious.  This  itin- 
erary not  only  covers  the  most  classic  lands  of 
human  history,  as  also  lands  made  forever 
memorable  by  the  most  sacred  events  toward 
which  human  thought  can  turn,  but  it  leads 
through  countries  most  enriched  by  the  treas- 
ured art  and  literature  of  the  ages,  coimtries 
which  in  modern  days  represent  the  ripest  and 
best  developments  of  the  world's  civilization. 
When,  in  addition,  it  is  remembered  that  our 
guide  through  all  the  distances  of  this  won- 


TRAVELER 


159 


drous  journey  is  a  man  of  phenomenal  knowl- 
edge, of  exceptional  insight,  and  with  equal 
powers  of  description,  we  shall  certainly  be 
wisely  self-directed  if  deciding  to  become  first- 
hand students  of  his  own  matchless  narrative. 
This  narrative  carries  an  extraordinary  wealth 
of  historic  incident  and  illustration ;  it  is  rich  in 
descriptive  references  to  classic  and  famous 
characters ;  it  is  informing  as  to  the  geography, 
governments,  and  political  relations  of  the 
lands  which  it  traverses;  it  is  photographic  in 
its  portrayals  of  the  manners,  customs,  arts, 
reUgion,  and  morals  of  the  peoples  with  whom 
it  deals.  It  was  the  ideal  of  the  author  in  pre- 
paring this  volume  to  write  both  so  truly  and  so 
vividly  as  to  "enable  those  who  do  not  expect 
to  cross  the  ocean  to  see,  'while  looking 
through  my  eyes,'  almost  as  well  as  with  their 
own."  This  ideal  is  large.  But  it  only  requires 
a  careful  reading  to  prove  that  the  book  meas- 
ures up  well  to  the  high  demand. 

On  May  14, 1910,  Dr.  Buckley,  in  company 
with  his  daughter,  again  sailed  for  Europe. 
This  tour  has  been  interestingly  described  in 
the  columns  of  The  Christian  Advocate.  The 
sailing  was  direct  from  New  York  to  Gib- 
raltar. From  Gibraltar  the  party  went  to 
Granada,  here,  of  course,  visiting  once  and 


160  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


again  the  Alhambra.  Of  this  structure,  with 
its  picturesque  mountain  environment,  Dr. 
Buckley  has  said:  "In  the  deepest  valley  or  the 
most  gloomy  desert  on  the  globe,  the  Alhambra 
would  intoxicate  and  enthrall ;  but  its  situation 
increases  its  fascination  immeasurably.  I 
doubt  if  earth  contains  a  grander  natural  set- 
ting for  a  more  astonishing  human  creation." 

From  Granada  they  went  to  Seville,  the 
native  city  of  Murillo  and  Velasquez,  the  birth- 
place of  three  Roman  emperors,  Adrian,  Tra- 
jan, and  Theodosius,  as  also  of  Magellan,  the 
explorer.  Seville  is  the  "Alma  Mater  of  bull- 
fights," and  this  may  be  accepted  as  a  criterion 
of  the  general  moral  status  of  its  inhabitants. 
Most  conspicuous  and  imposing  in  architecture 
are  the  "Alcazar  Castle"  and  the  Cathedral 
with  its  famous  Giralda  Bell  Tower.  Portugal 
is  next  visited,  and  fascinating  descriptions  of 
its  peoples,  palaces,  parks,  and  gardens  are 
given.  From  Lisbon  to  Madrid  is  four  hun- 
dred miles.  This  city  in  the  center  of  Spain, 
picturesquely  located  among  high  hills,  is  said 
to  have  the  worst  climate  in  Europe,  an  air  "so 
keen  and  so  subtle  that  it  will  kill  a  man,  while 
it  will  not  blow  out  a  candle."  This  city  con- 
tains one  of  the  finest  art  galleries,  as  well  as 
one  of  the  most  famous  royal  palaces,  in  the 


TRAVELER 


161 


world.  Here  also  is  the  famous  Escorial,  built 
by  Philip  II.  The  city  abounds  in  grand 
streets,  beautiful  parks,  and  is  in  many  ways 
unusually  adorned,  but  it  is  reminiscent  of  the 
dark  cruelties  of  the  Inquisition,  and  is  histor- 
ically inseparably  connected  with  the  sinister 
name  of  a  monarch  whose  reign  was  one  of  the 
most  barbarous  and  murderous  in  modern 
annals,  a  monarch  of  whom  tradition  says  that 
when  the  final  death  pains  were  upon  him,  he 
declared,  "My  crimes  are  giving  me  much  more 
anguish  than  my  sickness." 

Our  party  next  paid  an  interested  visit  to 
historic  Toledo,  and  of  all  objects  here  to  be 
seen,  the  Cathedral  is  of  surpassing  interest. 
Dr.  Buckley  confesses  to  joining  the  growing 
minority  who  beheve  the  Cathedral  of  Toledo 
more  impressive  than  that  in  Seville. 

The  itinerary  now  led,  with  easy  stops  by  the 
way,  to  Paris,  London,  Edinburgh,  Glasgow, 
Belfast,  the  Giant's  Causeway,  the  Lakes  of 
Killarney,  Cork,  Blarney  Castle,  Dublin.  Of 
this  extended  section  of  the  journey  many 
points  of  interest  are  graphically  and  allur- 
ingly portrayed.  From  Dublin,  the  journey 
was  pushed  by  rapid  stages  via  London,  Calais, 
and  Cologne  to  BerUn.  In  Germany,  Berlin, 
Potsdam,  and  other  leading  cities,  with  their 


162  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


great  universities,  museums,  art  galleries,  all 
setting  forth  many  distinctive  and  impressive 
exhibitions  of  the  culture,  prosperity,  and 
power  of  the  Teutonic  civilization,  were  closely 
observed.  Some  time  was  passed  amid  the  in- 
spiring scenery  of  the  Harz  Mountains,  the 
Black  Forest,  and  other  scenic  sections  the 
challenge  of  whose  beauty  was  worthily  re- 
sponded to  by  the  facile  pen  of  our  tourist. 

Regretfully  taking  leave  of  Germany,  the 
party  proceeded  to  Switzerland,  visiting  in 
order  Geneva,  Chamounix,  spending  ten  days 
above  the  clouds  at  the  Grand  Hotel  on  Mount 
Pelerin,  thence  returning  to  Lausanne,  the  city 
in  which  Gibbon  wrote  that  magnum  opus  of 
historic  authorship,  The  Dechne  and  Fall  of 
the  Roman  Empire.  In  reviewing  his  im- 
pressions of  Switzerland,  Dr.  Buckley  says: 
"Switzerland,  with  its  lakes,  cataracts,  moun- 
tains, glaciers,  traditions,  freedom,  and  prox- 
imity to  great  nations,  will  remain  the  most 
fascinating  resort  for  lovers  of  the  vast  and  the 
wild  intertwined  with  civilization." 

The  next  lap  in  the  journey  was  to  Tours, 
France,  via  Paris,  where  with  the  "Hotel  de 
rUnivers"  as  headquarters,  the  party  lingered 
for  ten  days,  visiting  objects  of  special  interest 
at  their  leisure.  Accessible  from  this  place  are 


TRAVELER 


163 


many  of  the  most  historic  and  artistic  chateaux 
of  France.  Of  several  of  these  our  tourist  has 
furnished  descriptions  of  such  discerning  merit 
as  amply  to  repay  a  careful  study.  The  Tours 
excursions  ended,  Dr.  Buckley  and  his 
daughter  spent  a  week  in  Paris,  visiting  some 
of  the  famous  places  familiar  to  them  through 
several  former  visits.  From  Paris  they  went 
by  rail  to  Cherbourg,  whence  they  sailed  home- 
ward on  the  good  ship  Cleveland,  of  the  Ham- 
burg American  Line,  arriving  duly  in  New 
York,  September  4, 1910.  To  the  experienced 
traveler  the  itinerary,  as  herein  outlined,  is  seen 
to  lead  through  many  countries  of  great  his- 
toric interest ;  but  no  adequate  appreciation  of 
this  particular  journey  can  be  realized  save  by 
first-hand  familiarity  with  Dr.  Buckley's  own 
masterful  and  fascinating  narratives.  The  de- 
tails of  this  journey  are  quite  fully  given  in  a 
series  of  twenty-six  letters  under  the  title 
"Studies  of  Other  Countries,"  which  appeared 
in  The  Christian  Advocate,  and  running  from 
September  29, 1910,  to  April  6,  1911. 

Dr.  Buckley's  sixth  and  last  journey  to 
Europe,  this  time  also  accompanied  by  his 
daughter,  was  begun  on  May  17,  1913,  with 
embarkation  from  New  York  on  the  North 
German  Lloyd  steamer  George  Washington. 


164  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


This  trip,  carrying  them  through  Holland  and 
many  German  cities  as  far  East  as  Budapest, 
took  them  for  the  most  part  over  ground 
made  familiar  to  them  by  previous  visits,  until, 
on  July  6,  they  embarked  at  Hamburg  for  a 
"Northern  Cruise."  This  special  cruise  took 
them  in  order  to  Leith,  Scotland,  Orkney  Is- 
lands, Faroe  Islands,  Iceland,  Spitzbergen, 
North  Cape,  Hammerfest,  Tromsoe,  Diger- 
mulen,  Meraak,  Gudvangen,  Bergen,  and  back 
to  Hamburg.  The  northernmost  point  of  this 
cruise  was  within  five  hundred  and  eighty-one 
miles  of  the  north  pole,  and  within  seventy-five 
miles  from  the  "packed  ice." 

Emerson  has  repeatedly  expressed  himself 
somewhat  cynically  upon  the  subject  of  travel. 
In  one  of  his  deliveries,  he  says:  "The  stuff  of 
all  countries  is  just  the  same.  Do  you  suppose 
there  is  any  country  where  they  do  not  scald 
milk-pans,  and  swaddle  the  infants,  and  burn 
the  brushwood,  and  broil  the  fish?  What  is 
true  anywhere  is  true  everywhere.  And  let 
him  go  where  he  will,  he  can  only  find  so  much 
beauty  or  worth  as  he  carries." 

If  it  must  be  conceded  that  a  man  brings 
from  scenes  of  travel,  or  from  books,  little  that 
he  does  not  himself  carry  to  them,  it  is  to  be 
emphasized  that  the  subject  of  the  biography. 


TRAVELER 


165 


himself  a  wide  traveler,  carried  to  every  historic 
spot,  to  every  classic  scene,  to  every  master- 
piece of  art,  and  into  the  presence  of  every 
celebrity,  a  resourceful  knowledge,  a  penetra- 
tive insight,  a  high  interpretative  power,  which 
enabled  him  to  translate  into  current  capital 
for  the  common  use  his  impressions  of  the  most 
marked  historic  events,  the  choicest  products  of 
art,  and  the  most  famous  geniuses. 

For  periods  long  to  come,  many  an  earnest 
student,  himself  precluded  from  traveling  be- 
yond the  seas,  will  thank  our  traveler  for  plac- 
ing before  him  as  in  a  mirror  the  scenes,  events, 
and  art  of  a  great  historic  world. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


AUTHOR 

So  far  as  the  subject  admits,  I  purpose  to 
treat  Dr.  Buckley's  work  as  an  author  quite 
in  distinction  from  his  functions  as  an  editor. 
The  more  carefully  each  distinctive  depart- 
ment of  his  activity  is  surveyed,  the  more  en- 
hanced will  be  our  wonder  and  admiration  at 
the  range  and  variety  of  his  intellectual  fruit- 
fulness.  Dr.  William  V.  Kelley,  now  the 
veteran  editor  of  Methodism,  is  quoted  as  say- 
ing: "In  voluminous  utterance  in  print  and  by 
word  of  mouth  no  one  except  the  founder 
of  Methodism  has  surpassed  Dr.  Buckley." 
When  the  phenomenal  intellectual  product  as 
given  out  by  John  Wesley  is  considered,  this 
statement  by  Dr.  Kelley  would  seem  an  exag- 
geration, but  when  one  gives  equal  survey  to 
the  literary  and  platform  outgivings  of  Dr. 
Buckley's  mind,  the  statement  cannot  be 
judged  as  overdrawn. 

In  the  field  of  authorship  alone,  both  in  vo- 
luminousness,  variety,  and  quality  of  literary 
output.  Dr.  Buckley  has  achieved  for  himself 
an  enviable  fame.  Aside  from  nimierous  larger 

166 


AUTHOR 


167 


volumes  standing  to  his  credit,  many  worthy 
pamphlets,  and  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects, 
have  come  from  his  prolific  pen.  Of  these 
lesser  publications  some  were  of  ephemeral 
interest,  and  it  is  not  easy  now  to  secure  a  com- 
plete list  of  titles.  The  following  may  indicate 
something  of  the  variety  and  character  of  sub- 
jects upon  which  he  wrote  within  the  pamphlet 
class.  The  Triumph  of  Man  Over  Nature,  and 
the  Sublime  Truth  which  It  Establishes,  As 
Suggested  by  the  Successful  Laying  of  the 
Atlantic  Cable;  Supposed  Miracles,  An  Argu- 
ment for  the  Honor  of  Christianity  as  against 
Superstition,  and  for  its  Truth  as  against  Un- 
belief; Two  Weeks  in  the  Yosemite;  An  Ap- 
peal to  Persons  of  Sense  and  Reflection  to  Be- 
gin a  Christian  Life ;  The  Changes  of  Twenty- 
five  Years,  April,  1883;  Aaron  Burr;  The 
Itinerant  Ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church;  Logical  Consequences  of  Rejecting 
Christianity;  A  Symposiimi  on  Evolution; 
The  Morality  of  Ministers;  Capital  Punish- 
ment; Traits  of  Human  Nature;  Palmistry; 
The  Phantom  Fortress  of  Christian  Science; 
Dowie,  Analyzed  and  Classified;  Hymns  and 
Music ;  Dangers  of  the  Emmanuel  Movement ; 
Genuine  Elements  of  Worship;  A  Pastor's 
Counsel  to  a   Serious   Inquirer;  Ingersoll 


168  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


Under  the  Microscope;  Studies  in  Physical 
Culture;  A  Hereditary  Consumptive's  Suc- 
cessful Battle  for  Life;  The  Possible  Influence 
of  Rational  Conversation  on  the  Insane — such 
are  a  few  of  the  many  topics  discussed  in  the 
briefer  publications. 

Of  the  foregoing  list  it  should  be  said  that 
several  of  the  subjects  were  originally  given  in 
the  forms  of  addresses,  while  others  appeared 
as  articles  in  various  periodicals,  such  as:  the 
Methodist  Review,  The  Homiletic  Monthly, 
The  Forum,  The  Chautauquan,  The  ISTorth 
American  Review,  The  Century  Magazine. 
These  lesser  publications,  however  intrinsically 
meritorious  in  themselves,  receive  large  signifi- 
cance from  the  fact  that  they  represent  the 
spontaneous,  and  seemingly  irrepressible,  over- 
flow of  a  wide-seeing  and  fruitfully  creative 
mind. 

In  the  field  of  book  publications,  at  least  a 
dozen  rich  and  informing  volumes,  some  of 
large  dimensions,  all  representing  wide  and  ac- 
curate research,  stand  as  products  of  his 
authorship.  The  titles  of  his  principal  books, 
and  in  the  order  of  their  publication,  are  as  fol- 
lows: Christians  and  the  Theater;  Oats  or 
Wild  Oats;  The  Midnight  Sun;  Faith  Heal- 
ing, Christian  Science,  and  Kindred  Phe- 


AUTHOR 


169 


nomena ;  Travels  in  Three  Continents ;  History 
of  Methodism  (in  two  volumes) ;  Extempora- 
neous Oratory;  The  Fundamentals  and  their 
Contrasts;  The  Wrong  and  Peril  of  Woman 
Suffrage;  Theory  and  Practice  of  Foreign 
Missions;  Constitutional  and  Parliamentary 
History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

His  first  book.  Christians  and  the  Theater, 
was  written  when  the  author  was  under  forty 
years  of  age,  and  in  the  period  of  his  active 
pastoral  life.  In  this  he  purposed  to  write  a 
book  every  sentence  of  which  should  be  perti- 
nent, and  from  which  nothing  should  be 
omitted  which  was  vital  to  his  subject.  He 
wished  to  be  truthful,  clear,  and  just  in  every 
utterance.  He  laid  down  as  his  foundation 
premises  his  own  experiences  in  younger  life 
with  the  theater,  careful  analysis  of  many 
leading  contemporary  plays,  as  also  the  historic 
deliverances  of  standard  evangelical  churches. 
Proceeding  from  these  bases,  his  clear  and  re- 
lentless logic  leads  him  to  the  following  con- 
clusion: "No  habit  which  does  not  imply  a  pos- 
itive renunciation  of  morality  is  more  perni- 
cious than  that  of  theater-going;  and  .  .  . 
whatever  may  have  occurred  in  isolated  cases, 
he  who  intends  to  lead  a  thoroughly  religious 
life  must  renounce  the  theater." 


170  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


To  most  young  men  nearing  the  threshold  of 
active  hfe,  a  grave  question  is,  "What  calhng 
shall  I  adopt?"  It  is  a  query  which  for  many 
is  coupled  with  a  Sphinxlike  perplexity.  It  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that,  in  this  congested, 
competing  age,  many  a  young  man  is  in  a  con- 
dition of  dubious,  if  not  discouraging,  uncer- 
tainty concerning  his  choice  of  a  life  calling. 
Our  author  admits  for  himself  to  having  made 
"several  unwise  choices  and  false  starts  in  life." 
When  he  became  editor  of  a  widely  circulated 
literary  and  religious  periodical,  he  had  not 
only  himself  been  a  wide  and  sympathetic  ob- 
server of  the  perplexities  besetting  young  men, 
but  he  was  constantly  in  receipt,  from  far  and 
near,  of  letters  seeking  his  advice  on  many 
problems  which  confront  the  life  of  the  young. 
Thus  was  suggested  to  him  the  opportunity,  of 
which  he  was  so  well  qualified  to  take  advan- 
tage, of  writing  a  series  of  helpful  counsels  to 
young  men.  These  letters  afterward  appeared 
in  a  volume  entitled  Oats  or  Wild  Oats.  This 
book  was  published  now  more  than  thirty  years 
ago.  But  for  variety  and  range  of  practical 
questions  relating  to  the  life  of  young  men,  and 
for  sane  and  wise  discussion  of  the  same,  it 
would  be  difficult  even  now  to  find  for  its  pur- 
pose a  more  fitting  or  pertinent  book. 


AUTHOR 


171 


For  consideration  of  the  books  on  travel, 
such  as  The  Midnight  Sun,  Travels  in  Three 
Continents,  and  other  kindred  writings,  the 
reader  is  referred  to  the  chapter  on  travels. 

The  mind  of  young  Buckley  from  earliest 
childhood  was  exceedingly  alert  and  observant. 
In  his  boyhood  neighborhood  there  were  some 
mentally  defective  children.  In  these  he  be- 
came intensely  interested.  Later,  one  day  a 
man  of  prepossessing  appearance  and  manners 
called  upon  his  mother,  and  suddenly  turning 
to  James,  said:  "I  have  a  vast  estate;  a  large 
number  of  horses;  some  of  them  Shetland 
ponies;  two  hundred  and  fifty  singing  birds, 
some  of  which  will  light  upon  my  shoulders  and 
head,  and  sing  like  angels.  If  you  will  come  to 
see  me,  I  will  give  you  a  pony  and  also  two 
singing  birds,  and  a  whole  wagon  full  of  flow- 
ers." After  his  departure  Mrs.  Buckley  had 
to  tell  James  that  this  man  was  "crazy."  He 
did  not  quite  apprehend  the  meaning  of  the 
term.  But  some  time  afterward  he  was  priv- 
ileged to  accompany  the  warden  through  the 
insane  asylum  at  Trenton,  when  he  was  nearly 
struck  dumb  by  discovering,  clad  in  a  strait 
jacket,  the  man  who  three  or  four  years  before 
had  promised  him  the  birds  and  the  horses. 

These  early  incidents  may  serve  to  indicate 


172  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


the  initial  awakening  of  Dr.  Buckley's  interest 
in  the  phenomena  of  abnormal  mentality.  He 
has  furnished  an  interesting  hst  of  the  subjects 
in  this  general  department  which  have  com- 
manded his  expert  attention.  He  says:  "The 
abnormaUties  that  interest  me  are  not  those  of 
wickedness,  but  such  conditions  in  general  as 
are  'out  of  fix.'  Those  which  I  have  studied 
more  than  any  other  division  of  knowledge  are 
such  as  these:  idiocy,  imbecility  from  birth, 
mental  derangements,  delusions,  hallucinations 
of  the  sane,  trances,  mental  or  physical  epi- 
demics, panics  of  any  kind  and  the  effect  of 
drugs,  drinks,  and  certain  vegetables  on  the 
mind  and  emotions.  To  these  I  add  certain 
diseases  and  habits  which  produce  abnormal- 
ities; also  Spiritualism  so  called.  Christian 
Science  so  called,  Faith  Healers  so  called;  in 
brief,  all  alleged  methods  of  curing  diseases 
which  throw  away  surgery  and  medicine  en- 
tirely, declaring  that  the  'spirits'  or  the  answer 
to  prayer  will  cure." 

To  these  subjects  he,  for  a  period  of  years, 
devoted  his  leisure  time  and  spare  money,  and 
it  is  his  expressed  judgment  that  these  investi- 
gations have  been  of  more  use  to  him  than  any 
other  studies  he  has  ever  pursued.  In  these 
studies  it  was  his  aim  to  be  thoroughly  funda- 


AUTHOR 


173 


mental.  It  was  to  him  an  early  surprise  to  dis- 
cover that  no  satisfactory  criteria  had  as  yet 
been  developed  for  deciding  and  placing  the 
real  values  of  the  apparent  and  diverse  phe- 
nomena in  this  general  field.  After  giving  these 
large  and  occult  phenomena  exhaustive  study, 
he  adopted  as  working  laws  for  himself,  the 
following :  First,  before  endeavoring  to  explain 
apparent  phenomena,  it  is  necessary  to  deter- 
mine what  facts  really  exist ;  second,  so  long  as 
it  is  possible  to  find  a  rational  explanation  of 
what  unquestionably  is,  there  is  no  reason  to 
suspect,  and  it  is  superstition  to  assume,  the 
operation  of  supernatural  causes. 

The  ripe  fruits  of  his  studies  in  the  various 
departments  indicated  are  given  in  his  volume. 
Faith  Healing,  Christian  Science,  and  Kindred 
Phenomena.  This  book  was  published  by  the 
Century  Company  in  1892.  Though  a  period 
of  nearly  twenty-five  years  has  passed  since  its 
appearance,  and  though  during  this  period  the 
whole  field  of  psychic  phenomena  has  been 
searchingly  and  increasingly  explored,  it  may 
be  safely  assumed  that  for  a  conscientious  sur- 
vey and  searching  analysis  of  facts,  and  for 
a  thoroughly  rational  and  convincing  account- 
ing for  the  same,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  find 
in  all  the  crowded  range  of  psychic  literature 


174  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


a  more  sane  or  scientific  statement  of  the 
case  than  is  presented  in  this  volume.  Our 
author  is  thoroughly  rationalistic  in  his  dis- 
cussion of  the  entire  subject.  He  probably 
has  not  said  the  last  word.  The  psychic 
universe  is  as  yet  but  little  explored.  From 
its  vast  and  shadowy  spaces  there  come  in- 
numerable, even  if  mute  appeals  to  all  that  is 
mystical  in  the  soul  or  mind  of  man.  As 
against  the  convictions  of  such  men  as  Sir 
Oliver  Lodge,  Alfred  Tennyson,  James  Rus- 
sell Lowell,  William  James,  and  unnumbered 
other  seerlike  minds,  we  may  modestly  hesitate 
before  resting  in  the  verdict  that  their  conclu- 
sions as  to  outlying  psychic  phenomena  are 
at  best  but  worthless  vagaries  of  speculative 
thought.  But  whatever  may  be  the  future 
shaping  of  philosophic  thought  or  conviction 
concerning  many  now  occult  psychic  questions. 
Dr.  Buckley  can  never  lose  rank  as  one  of  the 
most  thorough,  competent,  and  sane  investi- 
gators in  the  wide,  various,  and  pathetic  re- 
gions of  the  world's  abnormal  mentality. 

In  the  closing  decades  of  the  last  century  a 
publishing  firm  chartered  as  The  Christian 
Literature  Company  enterprised  a  series  of 
histories  of  the  religious  denominations  in  the 
United  States.   To  the  overtures  of  this  com- 


AUTHOR 


175 


pany  Dr.  Buckley  responded  in  the  produc- 
tion of  two  stout  volumes,  entitled  History  of 
Methodism.  No  man  in  the  denomination  was 
better  furnished,  or  could  be  more  fittingly  ap- 
pealed to,  for  this  task.  The  completed  work, 
which  was  conscientiously  and  painstakingly 
achieved,  has  been  the  subject  of  wide  and  for 
the  most  part  favorable  criticism. 

An  elaborate  review  in  The  Independent, 
in  addition  to  much  else,  says  the  following: 

"A  good  portion  of  the  work,  about  one 
seventh,  is  devoted  to  the  English  genesis.  No 
history  of  a  religious  organization  would  be 
complete  without  treating  the  origins,  however 
remote  the  geography;  and  while  this  work  is 
strictly  a  history  of  the  Methodists  in  the 
United  States,  the  history  would  have  been 
dwarfed  at  the  outset  unless  the  conditions  in 
England  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
cnturies  had  been  recognized.  .  .  . 

"The  author  warms  to  his  theme  the  moment 
he  touches  the  western  shore  of  the  Atlantic. 
To  wander  along  the  dry  paths  of  the  English 
reigns  before  the  Georges,  and  then  through 
the  former  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  has 
but  little  that  is  inspiring  in  it ;  yet  the  setting 
was  necessary  for  the  subject  in  hand.  How- 
ever, as  soon  as  the  author  sees  the  readiness  of 


176  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


the  English  Methodists  to  cross  the  ocean  to 
build  up  far-off  societies  and  to  begin  their 
larger  history,  he  becomes  more  intense.  Here 
we  find  one  of  the  strongest  departments  of 
the  whole  work — ^the  view  of  how  the  first 
Methodists  did  their  wise  building,  their  sacri- 
fice and  energy,  the  intrenched  institutions  and 
agencies  which  contested  every  step  of  the  new 
advance,  the  secret  of  their  success.  .  .  . 
The  careful  grouping  of  the  various  beneficent 
and  educational  societies  and  institutions  of  the 
Church  occupies  one  of  the  closing  chapters. 
It  furnishes  one  of  the  finest  views  anywhere 
to  be  found  of  the  philanthropic  and  practical 
character  of  the  evangehsm  of  Wesley  and  his 
followers  in  evolving  so  beautiful,  so  varied, 
and  so  systematic  a  ministry  of  good  alike  to 
the  bodies,  the  minds,  and  the  souls  of  men." 

It  is  perhaps  enough  to  say  of  this  History 
of  Methodism  that  it  will  hold  a  worthy  place 
among  the  standard  surveys  of  what,  on  the 
whole,  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  phe- 
nomenal and  vital  spiritual  movements  which 
have  arisen  within  the  Christian  centuries. 

In  the  year  1898  there  was  issued  from  Dr. 
Buckley's  pen  a  most  exceptional  and  useful 
book — Extemporaneous  Oratory.  Oratory, 
one  of  the  greatest,  is  also  one  of  the  oldest  of 


AUTHOR 


177 


the  arts.  It  is  an  art  which  will  never  be  super- 
seded. The  press  has  come  to  be  a  kind  of 
omniscient  purveyor  of  information  to  all  the 
world.  In  this  respect  it  has  largely  substi- 
tuted the  public  function  of  the  speaker.  But 
we  can  conceive  of  no  civilization  so  intellec- 
tually furnished  as  no  longer  to  find  place  or 
need  for  the  effective  persuasiveness  of  oratory. 
The  human  voice,  vibrant  with  emotion,  in- 
toned with  conviction,  uttering  great  and  im- 
passioned truth  direct  to  the  hearts  and  minds 
of  men,  will  always  remain  a  universal  instru- 
ment for  moving  the  human  will  to  decision 
and  to  action.  In  all  the  parliaments  of  the 
world,  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  in  the  courts  of 
justice,  in  the  great  forums  where  are  discussed 
the  highest  issues  of  civilization,  the  human 
voice  will  remain  the  one  paramount  instru- 
ment of  utterance  and  of  persuasion.  It  is 
likely  always  as  such  to  hold  an  unrivaled  place 
in  the  highest  contacts  of  mind  with  mind. 
Eloquence  of  a  kind  is  indispensable  to  the 
largest  success  of  the  teacher.  God  himself 
has  ordained  preaching  as  a  supreme  agency 
for  carrying  the  tidings  of  Christ's  kingdom  to 
all  mankind. 

No  book,  certainly  none  published  in 
America,  upon  this  subject,  and  confined  to 


178  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


equal  space,  has  ever  appealed  by  a  more  wise 
or  helpful  philosophy  of  the  art  to  those  who 
would  acquire  success  in  public  speaking.  The 
author  himself  has  been  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful extemporaneous  speakers  both  in  the 
pulpit  and  on  the  platform  known  to  the 
American  public.  Apt  speaking  and  correct 
thinking  seem  with  him  a  process  as  natural  as 
breathing.  His  entire  intellectual  history  illus- 
trates a  habit  of  thorough  mastery  of  any  sub- 
ject for  the  mental  handling  of  which  he  has 
assumed  responsibility.  As  a  mere  youth,  in- 
tending at  some  time  to  enter  the  profession  of 
law,  he  became  interested  in  forensic  pleadings 
in  the  courts,  and  in  societies  organized  for  de- 
bate. When  finally  he  became  a  preacher, 
from  the  first,  the  art  of  most  effectively  deliv- 
ering his  messages  became  to  him  a  subject  of 
absorbing  interest  and  study.  After  having 
thoroughly  tested  all  prescribed  methods,  he 
definitely  decided  for  himself  on  the  extem- 
poraneous method.  In  the  use  of  this  method 
he  has  long  been  recognized  as  well-nigh  a  peer- 
less master.  The  age  has  furnished  no  more 
successful  or  experienced  expert  in  the  art. 

His  own  conception  and  definition  of  ex- 
temporaneous oratory  is  given  as  follows:  "The 
dehvery,  in  an  arrangement  of  words,  sen- 


AUTHOR 


179 


tences,  and  paragraphs,  entirely  the  birth  of 
the  occasion,  of  ideas  previously  conceived  and 
adopted  with  more  or  less  fullness  and  preci- 
sion, together  with  such  thoughts  and  feelings 
as  may  arise  and  obtain  utterance."  In  pre- 
senting his  ideal,  he  further  says;  "To  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  speaker  his  own  mental  state 
is  similar  to  that  of  one  participating  in  an 
animated  conversation — ^there  being  no  effort 
to  recollect,  no  anticipation  of  what  is  to  come, 
but  entire  absorption  in  the  process  of  evolving, 
in  correct  forms  of  speech,  the  thought  in- 
tended to  be  expressed." 

This  book  has  received  wide  attention  from 
reviewers  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  The 
Methodist  Review,  speaking  of  the  author, 
says:  "Dr.  Buckley's  book  will  be  of  greatest 
advantage  to  young  ministers  and  others  who 
wish  to  cultivate  the  most  effective  style  of 
oratory.  He  treats  the  subject  from  every 
point  of  view  with  great  vigor  and  vivacity, 
with  abundant  illustration,  and  often  with 
humorous  anecdotes.  He  sets  forth  the  phys- 
ical, mental,  and  moral  preparation.  He 
points  out  the  causes  of  failure,  the  difficulties 
of  many  attempts  at  extemporaneous  speech, 
and  the  supreme  advantage  it  affords  when 
achieved." 


180  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


The  Hon.  Andrew  D.  White,  when  Ambas- 
sador to  the  Court  of  Berhn,  in  an  autograph 
letter  says:  "No  end  of  thanks  for  your  book 
on  Extemporaneous  Oratory.  It  has  de- 
lighted me.  I  began  by  dipping  into  it  at  vari- 
ous places  which  seemed  likely  to  interest  me 
and  soon  found  myself  reading  in  both  direc- 
tions through  the  book.  Your  work  is  sure  to 
be  of  great  value,  first  as  a  stimulus  of  the  right 
kind  to  students,  and  finally  as  exercising  the 
sort  of  moral  influence  which  people  given  to 
oratory  especially  need."  The  New  York  Sun 
says:  "The  book  contains  everything  that  any- 
body can  think  of  about  oratory.  It  is  very 
interesting." 

The  Methodist  Times  of  London  says:  "We 
should  regard  with  intense  interest  anything 
which  he  had  to  say  or  write  upon  public  speak- 
ing, oratory,  of  which  art  he  is  a  master.  But 
the  work  he  has  just  published  is  one  which  sur- 
passes even  the  high  expectations  we  formed  of 
its  merits.  It  is  at  once  the  most  detailed  and 
most  practical  and  useful  book  on  public 
speaking  and  on  the  art  of  preaching  which  we 
have  read.  It  is  a  most  enlightening  book  for 
preachers.  It  will  widen  their  whole  horizon 
even  more  than  it  will  teach  them  the  arts  of 
oratory.  What  many  speakers  seem  to  regard 


AUTHOR 


181 


as  insignificant  details,  such  as  the  strengthen- 
ing and  modulations  of  the  voice,  the  pitch  and 
tones,  and  the  constant  enriching  of  the  vo- 
cabulary, are  here  given  their  due  importance. 
The  physiological  basis  of  speech,  the  proper 
use  and  assimilation  of  words,  the  general 
preparation  of  thought  and  physical  training, 
the  use  of  anecdotes,  similes,  and  illustrations, 
the  preparation  of  feeling,  and  the  way  to  pro- 
tect oneself  against  failure,  are  all  subjects  of 
wise  and  thoughtful  chapters.  At  the  close  of 
a  chapter  on  'General  Preparation  of  Feeling' 
we  have  this  sterling  advice  to  the  preacher: 
'More  effectual  than  all  other  helps,  because  it 
includes  and  purifies  all,  is  an  earnest,  reverent 
Christian  hfe,  equally  removed  from  cant  and 
superstition.  Its  roots  being  faith,  hope,  and 
love,  the  fruit  is  a  perennial  flow  of  pure  and 
helpful  emotion.'"  The  English  Methodist 
Recorder  says:  "We  believe  that  if  our  Meth- 
odist students  in  England  would  carefully  read 
this  volume — and  they  would  find  it  quite  the 
reverse  of  difficult  or  distasteful — ^they  would 
learn  from  it  much  common  sense,  and  be  saved 
from  many  twangs  and  vicious  tricks  which 
ruin  so  many  of  our  English  and  American 
pubhc  speakers  and  preachers.  We  should 
strongly  advise  the  committee  responsible  for 


182  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


selecting  the  books  which  probationers  are 
required  to  read,  to  consider  very  seriously  Dr. 
Buckley's  volume." 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  significant  appraisals 
of  this  book  as  selected  from  many  sources. 
The  volume  throughout  its  lifetime  thus  far  has 
been  one  of  the  "best  sellers."  It  is  worthy  to 
be  in  the  hands  of  every  student  who  aspires  in 
any  measure  to  proficiency  in  public  speech. 
Time  may  add  to  its  present  wealth  of  mate- 
rial, but  its  philosophy  of  the  subject  is  so 
fundamental,  its  scope  and  detail  so  complete, 
its  illustrative  quality  so  rich  and  vivid,  its 
entire  treatment  so  sane,  as  to  render  it  highly 
improbable  that  it  can  be  wisely  superseded  for 
an  indefinite  time  to  come. 

In  the  year  1905  Dr.  Buckley  delivered  the 
third  course  of  lectures  on  the  Quillian  Foun- 
dation at  Emory  College,  Oxford,  Georgia. 
The  course  consisted  of  six  lectures  with  the 
following  titles:  "Religions  and  Religion"; 
"No  God";  "Many  Gods  or  One";  "Inspira- 
tion and  Revelation";  "False  and  Distorted 
Forms  of  Christianity";  "The  Indestructibility 
of  Christianity."  These  lectures,  both  in  their 
composition  and  delivery,  bore  the  stamp  of 
their  author's  characteristic  ability.  They 
evince  wide  and  accurate  research.   Under  the 


AUTHOR 


183 


title  The  Fundamentals  and  their  Contrasts, 
as  required  by  the  conditions  of  the  foundation 
on  which  they  were  delivered,  they  were  pub- 
lished in  book  form  as  the  property  of  Emory 
College. 

In  the  year  1909  The  Wrong  and  Peril  of 
Woman  Suffrage  was  produced.  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  this  book  installed  itself  at  once  as 
a  voice  to  be  heard,  whether  heeded  or  not,  at 
one  of  the  very  storm-centers  of  public  thought 
and  conviction.  Renewed  discussion,  however 
ably  or  resourcefully  conducted,  of  a  subject 
as  widely  and  sensitively  lodged  in  the  public 
mind  as  is  that  of  woman  suffrage,  is  not  likely 
much  to  change  the  attitude  of  those  already 
committed  to  one  side  or  the  other  of  the  ques- 
tion at  issue.  Men  and  women  generally, 
where  their  convictions  and  preferences  are 
enlisted,  are  not  likely  to  be  practically  con- 
vinced by  opposing  arguments.  New  and 
fundamental  discussion  of  old  questions,  how- 
ever illuminating  to  the  subjects  themselves, 
for  their  effectiveness  upon  public  opinion 
must  rely,  if  at  all,  upon  appeal  either  to  a 
noncommitted,  or  to  a  young  and  open- 
minded,  constituency.  No  better  illustration 
of  this  general  truth  could  be  sought  than  is 
furnished  in  connection  with  this  particular 


184  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


book.  The  sensitiveness  of  the  public  mind  to 
the  question  discussed  is  evidenced  by  the  in- 
stant flare  of  criticism,  pro  and  con,  which  the 
appearance  of  the  book  awakened. 

Extremely  diverse  opinions  were  uttered  as 
to  its  merits.  One  reviewer  says,  "We  can  only 
advise  everyone  to  read  the  book,  believing  that 
all  who  bring  to  it  an  open  mind  will  agree  with 
the  conclusion  of  the  author,  that  neither  the 
state,  the  family,  nor  woman  herself,  would  be 
benefited,  but,  on  the  contrary,  would  be  in- 
jured, if  she  were  invested  with  the  suffrage." 
Another  reviewer  as  previously  noted,  says: 
"The  book  neither  takes  notice  of  the  modern 
arguments  for  woman  suffrage  nor  success- 
fully controverts  the  old  ones.  .  .  .  The 
book  may  contribute  to  the  amusement  of  a 
collector  of  intellectual  curiosities."  As  be- 
tween these  extremes  of  view,  a  wide  and  vari- 
ous criticism  found  utterance. 

In  general,  it  is  conceded  that  the  book  is 
a  marvel  of  condensation,  and  that  its  entire 
argument  is  most  lucidly  and  forcefully  de- 
veloped. Senator  George  F.  Hoar,  with 
whom,  through  the  Century  Magazine,  Dr. 
Buckley  debated  the  question,  declared  that  in 
his  judgment  the  Doctor  had  presented  the 
"strongest  argument  ever  made  on  that  side." 


AUTHOR 


185 


Yet  Senator  Hoar,  a  doughty  suffragist,  was 
not  converted  to  the  view  of  him  whose  argu- 
ment he  so  eulogizes.  It  was  sometimes  stated, 
especially  in  view  of  the  temper  of  the  public 
mind  on  the  question,  that  only  a  man  of  brave 
soul,  a  man  willing  to  face  unpopularity  in 
many  quarters,  could  venture  on  such  a  publi- 
cation. It  was  generally  acknowledged  that 
the  book  deals  fairly  with  opposing  views. 
One  writer  says,  "The  arguments  for  woman 
suffrage  are  fairly  and  admirably  stated,  and 
one  cannot  read  the  book  without  being  im- 
pressed with  its  candor  and  reasonableness." 
Another  says :  "Dr.  Buckley  states  frankly  the 
arguments  dear  to  suffragettes,  and  popularly 
supposed  to  be  the  irresistible  reason  of  their 
contention.  To  be  sure,  he  states  them  to 
refute  them,  but  so  far  as  the  lay  reader  is  able 
to  judge  the  statements  suffer  nothing  on  that 
account." 

The  impression  of  the  author's  views  on  this 
and  similar  questions  will  linger  long  in  the 
mind  of  the  Church.  It  is  but  just  that, 
coupled  with  this  impression,  there  should  re- 
main no  false  or  distorted  views  concerning  his 
personal  attitude  toward  woman.  He  was  in- 
finitely far  from  opposing  woman  suffrage 
because  of  any  personal  conviction  of  either 


186  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


woman's  inferiority  or  unworthiness.  Indeed, 
his  opposition,  in  its  most  intense  forms,  arose 
from  convictions  exactly  the  opposite  of  these. 
He  beUeved  fully  that  to  woman  there  are 
divinely  assigned  the  loftiest  and  holiest  func- 
tions required  under  the  most  ideal  develop- 
ments of  home  and  civilization.  He  was  never 
able  to  divest  himself  of  the  view,  which  really 
has  in  it  a  world  of  wholesomeness,  that  how- 
ever refined,  vital,  and  distinctive  may  be  the 
legitimate  sphere  of  woman,  yet,  while  comple- 
mentary to,  it  is  eternally  distinctive  from,  the 
sphere  divinely  designed  for  man.  His  gen- 
eral view  may  be  best  stated  in  his  own  terms : 
"Should  the  duty  of  governing  in  the  state  be 
imposed  upon  woman,  all  the  members  of  so- 
ciety would  suffer — children  by  diminished  care 
from  mothers;  husbands  from  the  increase  of 
the  contentions  and  the  decline  of  the  attrac- 
tions of  home;  young  men  and  maidens  from 
the  destruction  of  the  idealism  which  invests  the 
family  with  such  charms  as  to  make  the  hope 
of  a  home  of  one's  own  *where  in  the  contrast  of 
the  sexes  life  may  be  ever  a  delight,'  an  impulse 
to  economy  and  virtue — but  the  greatest  suf- 
ferer would  be  woman." 

He  further  says:  "The  true  woman  needs  no 
governing  authority  conferred  upon  her  by 


AUTHOR 


187 


law.  In  the  present  situation  the  highest  evi- 
dence of  respect  that  man  can  exhibit  toward 
woman,  and  the  noblest  service  he  can  per- 
form for  her,  is  to  vote  No  to  the  proposi- 
tion that  would  take  from  her  the  diadem  of 
pearls,  the  talisman  of  faith,  hope,  and  love, 
and  substitute  for  them  the  iron  crown  of 
authority." 

The  foregoing  quotations  should  be  accepted 
as  expressing  the  sincere  and  profound  convic- 
tions of  one  who  was  a  wide  observer  of  society, 
a  most  acute  and  discriminating  student  of  hu- 
man nature.  He  firmly  believed  that  he  was 
dealing  with  questions  which  lie  at  the  very 
foundations  of  the  social  and  political  weal. 
While  many  may  not  be  able  to  accept  either 
the  philosophy  or  the  logic  of  his  position  in 
relation  to  woman  suffrage,  yet  he  is  entitled 
only  to  honor  for  the  courage,  the  fidelity,  the 
patriotism,  and  the  ability  with  which,  as  he 
believes  in  the  sole  interests  of  the  public  good, 
he  comes  to  the  defense  of  his  convictions. 
From  a  plane  of  exalted  idealism.  Dr.  Buckley 
gave  foremost  honor  to  womanhood.  As 
pastor  of  large  churches  he  encouraged  the  co- 
operation of  women  in  all  spiritual  work.  As 
husband  and  father  in  the  home  he  was  a  model 
of  affability,  courtesy,  and  affection. 


188  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


The  last  notable  volume  from  Dr.  Buckley's 
pen  is  entitled  Constitutional  and  Parlia- 
mentary History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  This  work,  long  promised,  was 
brought  to  completion  in  1912.  The  book  is 
not,  nor  was  it  intended  to  be,  a  general  history 
of  Methodism,  nor  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Its  chief  purpose  is  to  trace  the  evo- 
lution and  development  of  the  constitution  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Within  this 
scope  it  treats  with  clear  and  logical  coordi- 
nation all  the  factors,  consisting  of  documents, 
debates,  persons,  offices  and  orders,  Confer- 
ences, General,  Annual,  and  Quarterly,  and 
with  the  movements  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  all  countries  so  far  as  these 
factors  have  contributed  to,  or  have  themselves 
been  modified  by,  the  constitution. 

A  second  and  minor  section  of  the  work 
treats  of  the  parliamentary  history  of  the  de- 
nomination, and  has  for  its  purpose  the  clear 
setting  forth  of  the  importance,  the  functions, 
and  the  generic  rules  of  debate  as  often  a  de- 
cisive factor  in  shaping  the  parliamentary  life 
of  the  Church. 

A  few  sentences  from  many  encomiums 
which  this  book  has  received  from  reviewers  are 
herewith  given.   "The  author  never  writes  for 


AUTHOR 


189 


sheer  pastime.  He  thinks,  plans,  argues,  de- 
bates, and  writes  for  the  one  purpose  of  mak- 
ing his  readers  agree  with  him.  The  emphasis 
he  places  on  debate  is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 
He  shows  that  debate  is  the  power  of  vital  per- 
sonality in  contrast  with  the  dead  documentary 
or  cold  storage  power  of  documentary  evi- 
dence." "It  is  a  history  rather  than  a  discus- 
sion, albeit  it  is  at  times  so  graphic  as  to  remind 
one  of  Froude.  Being  a  history,  it  is  scarcely 
an  argument;  the  self -repression  of  its  distin- 
guished author,  who  can  argue  fourteen  rea- 
sons in  almost  as  many  seconds  for  his  posi- 
tions, is  almost  to  be  marveled  at.  .  .  .  The 
book  goes  thoroughly  into  the  presiding  elder- 
ship (shall  it  be  elective,  etc.) ;  the  bisection  of 
the  Church  in  1844 ;  the  episcopacy,  bishops  for 
races  and  languages,  the  superannuation  of 
bishops,  the  veto  power  of  bishops,  etc.  .  .  . 
We  voice  the  feelings  of  multiplied  thousands 
in  congratulating  the  Church  on  this  book,  and 
the  distinguished  writer  on  both  his  vivacity 
and  patience  in  adding  this  permanent  contri- 
bution to  our  resources."  "It  brings  together 
in  luminous  and  pertinent  quotations  the  prin- 
cipal documents  of  our  constitutional  history, 
making  them  accessible  to  the  general  reader 
in  this  convenient  volvmie.  The  highest  praise 


190  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


perhaps  that  could  be  given  such  a  work  would 
be  to  say  that  the  text  of  the  history  by  which 
the  documents  and  wisely  selected  quotations 
from  the  sources  are  woven  into  a  continuous 
account  is  so  accordant  with  the  sources  as  to 
form  a  connected  whole." 

In  an  autograph  letter,  Vice-President  Fair- 
banks says:  "I  heartily  congratulate  you  upon 
your  great  work.  The  whole  Church  is  your 
grateful  debtor."  The  Hon.  George  G.  Rey- 
nolds, justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  for  two  terms  the 
parishioner  of  Dr.  Buckley,  writes :  "The  whole 
book  is  one  of  the  most  informing  I  have  read. 
.  .  .  The  chapters  on  the  Restrictive  Rules 
are  worth  careful  study  by  all  who  care  to 
understand  the  history  and  position  of  our 
Church.  Likewise  those  on  the  causes  and 
manner  of  the  'bisection'  of  the  Church,  and 
the  introduction  of  lay  delegation.  These  are 
some  of  the  salient  points  which  impress  me  on 
the  first  reading."  Professor  Milton  S.  Terry 
writes:  "I  found  it  so  entertaining,  and  even 
fascinating,  that  I  read  it  through  within  forty- 
eight  hours  after  I  received  it.  .  .  .  You 
have  accomplished  a  most  useful  task,  and  seem 
to  me  to  have  done  it  with  praiseworthy  ex- 
cellence, your  chapters  on  the  'Third  Restric- 


AUTHOR 


191 


tive  Rule'  are  of  great  value.  Those  on  the 
'Lay  Delegation  Movement'  revive  most  inter- 
esting memories.  The  last  chapter  of  the  book 
is  a  gem  in  its  way.  Your  clear,  accurate,  dis- 
criminating portraiture  of  our  great  but  many- 
sided  episcopal  parliamentarians  is  a  most  re- 
markable piece  of  character-painting — ^truth- 
ful as  it  is  picturesque.  This  volume  is  worthy 
of  all  praise,  and  ought  to  have  a  wide  circula- 
tion." 

Such  are  a  few  judgments,  as  taken  from 
many  eminent  sources,  pronounced  upon  this 
book.  The  book  as  a  whole  may  be  rated  as 
the  most  important  single  contribution  to  the 
constitutional  and  parliamentary  history  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  volume 
forms  a  fitting  close  to  the  cycle  of  Dr.  Buck- 
ley's larger  authorship.  It  is  in  every  way 
worthy  of  the  resourceful  and  judicial  mind 
whence  it  sprang. 

Standing,  as  in  some  measure  I  am  per- 
mitted to  do,  under  the  impression  which  an 
all-around  review  of  the  life  of  our  subject  is 
adapted  to  create,  I  can  bring  no  chapter  of 
this  work  to  a  close  without  a  haunting  sense  of 
the  fractional,  the  incomplete,  estimate  of  the 
entire  man  which  the  most  careful  study  of  any 
one  department  of  his  activities  alone  can  fur- 


192  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 

nish.  I  am  impressed  that  the  close  of  this 
chapter  on  a  fruitful  authorship  may  be  only 
one  of  many  fitting  points  at  which  to  remind 
the  reader  that  the  moral  and  intellectual 
measurement  of  Doctor  Buckley  cannot  be 
secured  by  a  consideration,  however  careful,  of 
any  single  department  of  his  work. 

In  reviewing  his  authorship  alone,  however 
impressively  may  appear  the  wealth  and  va- 
riety of  his  knowledge  and  thought,  as  revealed 
in  his  books,  it  would  still  be  comparatively 
easy  for  the  reader  to  estimate  his  resourceful- 
ness from  the  standpoint  of  a  detached  and 
partial  basis.  We  shall  never  measure  the  real 
intellectual  greatness  of  the  man  save  as  we 
pursue  him  into  all  the  fields  of  his  activity, 
noting  his  equal  at-homeness  in  many  depart- 
ments of  knowledge,  taking  careful  account  of 
that  mental  alertness,  comprehensive  insight, 
and  balanced  judgment,  which  enable  him  to 
think  sanely,  and  seemingly  exhaustively,  upon 
every  question  of  practical  interest.  'Not  until 
we  have  gathered  up  all  his  productive  proc- 
esses, and  have  coordinated  them  into  the 
huge  sum  of  his  creative  work,  not  until  this 
inclusive  exploration,  does,  or  can,  the  man 
appear  to  us  as  he  really  is — truly  prodigious. 


CHAPTER  IX 


ACADEMIC  HONORS  AND 
OFFICIAL  POSITIONS 

A  MAN  signalized  as  an  aggressive  and  con- 
structive promoter  of  humane  interests,  of  bril- 
liant versatility,  and  widely  recognized  as  an 
intellectual  leader,  is  one  whom  educational 
institutions  honor  themselves  by  honoring. 
Dr.  Buckley  could  not  escape  the  academical 
appendage.  Not  himself  a  college  graduate  in 
cursUj  yet,  in  diverse  and  far  fields  of  learning, 
he  made  himself  so  much  more  than  the  average 
graduate;  in  so  many  departments  of  scholar- 
ship and  thought  he  established  for  himself 
such  authoritative  standing  as  naturally  and 
inevitably  to  attract  to  himself  attention  from 
the  learned  faculties. 

From  Wesleyan  University  he  received  hon- 
orary degi'ces  as  follows:  Master  of  Arts  in 
1869 ;  Doctor  of  Divinity  in  1872.  Emory  and 
Henry  College,  of  Virginia,  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  in  1882.  A 
few  years  later  Syracuse  University  gave  him 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Human  Letters.  If 
it  were  not  generally  known  that  he  was  richly 

193 


194  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


supplied  with  these  goods,  doubtless  other  in- 
stitutions would  have  come  forward  to  pay  him 
the  tribute  of  like  or  kindred  degrees.  It  is 
certain,  from  the  number  of  invitations  which 
came  to  him  to  deliver  university  and  college 
commencement  addresses,  that  he  had  earned 
for  himself  a  commanding  rank  as  measured  hy 
the  standards  of  the  college  world. 

His  knowledge  was  so  large  and  practical, 
his  insight  into  conditions  so  quick  and  clear, 
his  judgment  of  men  and  methods  so  sane,  as 
to  make  him  largely  sought  by  representative 
institutions  as  a  working  member  on  their  ad- 
ministrative boards.  All  this  aside  from  the 
historic  places  held  by  him  in  leading  pastor- 
ates. General  Conference  memberships,  and 
editorial  work  in  his  own  denomination.  Thus, 
in  educational  work,  he  is  a  trustee  of  Wes- 
leyan  University,  of  Goucher  College,  and  of 
the  Drew  Theological  Seminary.  He  was 
three  times  elected  a  delegate  to  world  Ecu- 
menical Conferences  of  Methodism,  those  held 
respectively  in  London  in  1881,  in  Washington 
in  1891,  and  in  Toronto  in  1911.  He  was  a 
delegate  to  the  great  World  Missionary  Con- 
ference held  in  Edinburgh  in  1910. 

The  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  is  one  of  the  great  mis- 


ACADEMIC  HONORS  195 


sionary  organizations  of  the  Protestant  world. 
His  continuous  membership  in  this  body  dates 
from  among  the  earhest  of  members  now  liv- 
ing. For  many  years  he  was  vice-president, 
and  for  three  succeeding  years  he  was  president 
of  this  Board. 

Of  various  honorary  organizations,  he  was 
a  member  of  the  New  England  Society  of  New 
York ;  of  the  Washington  Society  of  New  Jer- 
sey; a  member  of  the  Sons  of  the  American 
Revolution;  of  the  Society  of  Colonial  Wars; 
and  of  the  Methodist  Historical  Society  of 
New  York.  He  was  a  vice-president  of  the 
New  York  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Vice; 
and  also  one  of  the  judges  to  decide  upon  the 
acceptance  of  candidates  for  place  in  the  "Hall 
of  Fame."  He  has  for  many  years  been  chair- 
man of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  New  York 
East  Conference,  a  Board  holding  in  adminis- 
trative custody  a  fund  of  approximately  $300,- 
000. 

His  exhaustive  study  and  expert  knowledge 
of  the  phenomena  of  abnormal  mentality  quite 
naturally  led  up  to  his  active  interest  in,  and 
to  his  official  relations  with,  institutions  con- 
ducted in  the  interests  of  the  mentally  unfortu- 
nate. One  of  the  largest  and  best  conducted 
asylums  for  the  insane  in  the  entire  country 


196  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


is  located  at  Morris  Plains,  New  Jersey.  He 
was  actively  related  to  this  institution  for 
twenty  years ;  was  for  six  years  vice-president, 
and  for  three  succeeding  years  president  of 
its  Board  of  Managers.  He  was  for  a  period 
of  five  years  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Man- 
agers of  the  State  Hospital  for  the  Insane  at 
Trenton,  New  Jersey.  He  was  president  of 
the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  New  Jersey 
State  Village  for  Epileptics  from  the  time  of 
its  establishment  until  his  resignation  in  1903. 
An  honor  which  he  himself  regarded  as  among 
the  highest  which  he  had  ever  received,  and  in 
which  he  took  much  satisfaction,  was  his  elec- 
tion as  an  honorary  member  of  the  Medico- 
Psychological  Society  of  America. 

In  reviewing  these  official  relations  we  shall 
hardly  give  them  a  proper  coordination  save 
as  we  give  balanced  consideration  to  the  many 
and  exacting  duties  which  he  was  simulta- 
neously performing  on  other  and  distinct  lines 
of  work.  The  real  wonder  is,  not  that  he  was 
able  to  do  this  or  that  particular  thing  with 
the  skill  of  an  expert,  but  that  he  displayed 
the  ability  to  perform  so  many  and  various 
duties,  and  so  to  discharge  them  all  as  in  every 
circle  to  conmiand  for  himself  the  rank  and 
esteem  of  a  leader. 


ACADEMIC  HONORS  197 


It  remains  to  give  some  narration  of  the  one 
institution  with  which  from  its  beginnings,  as 
originator  and  manager,  he  has  had  the  most 
intimate  and  influential  relations — The  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Hospital,  in  the  Borough  of 
Brooklyn,  New  York  city.  In  introducing 
this  subject  I  am  glad  to  avail  myself  of  sec- 
tions of  an  address  delivered  before  the  New 
York  East  Conference,  in  April,  1912,  on  the 
twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  its  opening,  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Abram  S.  Kavanagh,  then  superin- 
tendent of  the  hospital.   He  said : 

"When  the  New  York  East  Conference  con- 
vened twenty-five  years  ago,  something  new  in 
Methodism  was  taking  place.  For  a  century 
and  more  we  had  achieved  success  as  evangel- 
ists and  church  builders,  and  we  had  also  be- 
come an  educational  force  in  the  life  of  the 
nation.  But  now  a  new  conviction  was  slowly 
but  steadily  making  itself  felt  that  the  min- 
istry of  Jesus  was  at  once  a  preaching,  teach- 
ing, and  healing  ministry.  At  that  Conference 
it  was  announced  that  within  a  few  months  the 
western  pavilion  of  the  first  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Hospital  in  the  world  would  be  opened 
for  the  reception  of  patients.  That  promise 
was  fulfilled  December  15, 1887. 

"Before  the  hospital  was  constructed,  or 


198  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


even  had  taken  shape  in  the  mind  of  an  archi- 
tect, it  was  a  reahty  in  the  thoughts  and  plans 
and  prayers  of  one  man.  It  was  born  in  an 
hour  of  distress  and  pastoral  anxiety.  When 
Dr.  James  M.  Buckley  was  pastor  in  Stam- 
ford, Connecticut  (1875-77),  his  organist  met 
with  an  accident  in  New  York  city  which  neces- 
sitated the  amputation  of  an  arm.  He  lay  for 
an  hour  upon  the  sidewalk  before  an  ambulance 
came,  and  later  died  in  surroundings  which 
were  far  from  being  Christian. 

"Dr.  Buckley  at  once  registered  a  vow  that 
some  day,  if  possible,  he  would  secure  the  erec- 
tion of  a  Methodist  Episcopal  Hospital.  That 
was  the  actual  moment  when  the  hospital  was 
founded.  Therefore,  strict  accuracy  must 
push  back  the  de  facto  date  from  1881  to  1877. 
When,  in  1880,  Dr.  Buckley  became  editor  of 
The  Christian  Advocate,  he  lost  no  time  in 
seeking  the  fulfillment  of  his  vow.  His  pur- 
pose was  strengthened  by  certain  investiga- 
tions which  he,  or  his  representatives,  had  made 
among  the  hospitals  in  New  York  city,  which 
disclosed  the  fact  that  Saint  Luke's  Hospital 
alone  had  cared  for  eight  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  Methodists,  most  of  whom  were  charity 
patients.  The  editor's  face  burned  with  shame, 
not  that  Saint  Luke's  had  treated  us  so  well. 


ACADEMIC  HONORS  199 


but  that  Methodism  was  unable  to  reciprocate 
her  kindly  deeds.  The  records  of  other  hos- 
pitals also  showed  the  same  generous  treatment 
and  at  the  same  time  emphasized  our  own  de- 
nominational needs.  These  facts  gave  power 
and  pungency  to  perhaps  the  most  effective 
editorial  that  ever  appeared  in  The  Christian 
Advocate.  That  article  declared:  'The  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  is  to-day,  so  far  as  we 
can  learn,  without  a  hospital,  a  dispensary,  an 
industrial  school,  or,  except  in  mission  fields, 
an  orphan  asylum  under  her  control.  We  do 
not  believe  for  one  moment  that  this  is  the  out- 
come of  unfriendly  conviction.  It  is  the  out- 
come of  preoccupation ;  but  now,  is  it  not  time 
that  somewhere  we  build  a  hospital?'  " 

The  editorial  referred  to  fell  under  the 
watchful  eye  of  George  I.  Seney,  who  early 
sought  an  interview  with  the  Editor,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  submitted  this  proposition: 
"I  offer  you  sixteen  eligible  lots,  valued  at 
$40,000,  as  a  site,  and  $100,000  in  cash  toward 
the  erection  of  a  Methodist  Episcopal  General 
Hospital,  which  shall  be  open  to  Jew  and  Gen- 
tile, Protestant  and  Catholic,  heathen  and  in- 
fidel, on  the  same  terms."  A  little  later  Mr. 
Seney  wrote  to  Dr.  Buckley,  saying:  "My  dear 
Sir:  I  have  read  with  great  interest  the  two 


200  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


pamphlets  you  left  with  me.  You  may  make 
my  subscription  $200,000  instead  of  $100,000." 
Subsequently  Mr.  Seney  purchased,  in  a  beau- 
tiful location,  on  the  slope  west  of  Prospect 
Park  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  an  entire  city 
block,  containing  about  three  and  one  fifth 
acres,  and  costing  $70,000,  substituting  this 
for  the  original  sixteen  lots  as  first  proposed. 
Upon  this  site  the  hospital  now  stands.  Mr. 
Seney  continued  his  gifts  until  they  reached  a 
total  of  more  than  $410,000. 

Soon  after  the  securement  of  Mr.  Seney's 
original  gifts  a  Board  of  Managers,  made  up 
of  representative  men,  was  duly  selected  and 
authorized.  This  Board  was  organized  Au- 
gust 2,  1881,  with  James  M.  Buckley  as  presi- 
dent, and  James  N.,  afterwards  Bishop,  Fitz- 
Gerald,  as  secretary.  From  this  date  up  to  the 
present  writing,  a  period  of  nearly  thirty-six 
years.  Dr.  Buckley  has  been  continuously  the 
president  of  this  Board.  This  record  here  need 
not  be  enlarged  upon,  but  it  is  certainly  in  itself 
a  significant  history. 

In  his  address  on  the  twenty-fifth  anniver- 
sary of  the  hospital.  Dr.  Kavanagh  further 
says: 

"It  is  natural  that  the  man  of  commercial 
instincts  should  measure  our  success  by  the 


ACADEMIC  HONORS  201 


buildings  erected,  the  facilities  furnished,  and 
the  endowments  created.  The  man  of  science 
will  gauge  our  work  by  scientific  research  and 
discoveries,  but  the  philanthropist  will  ask  how 
many  suffering  men  and  women  have  we  re- 
stored to  their  families? 

"Here  are  a  few  suggestive  figures:  The 
hospital  during  its  first  year  treated  315  pa- 
tients; the  fifth  year,  1,097;  the  tenth  year, 
1,339;  the  fifteenth  year,  1,984;  the  twentieth 
year,  3,267;  and  the  last  year,  4,554.  .  .  . 
Since  the  hospital  was  opened  we  have  cared 
for  42,879  in  our  wards  and  rooms,  and  100,000 
in  our  dispensary.  One  item  of  special  interest 
to  ministers  and  missionaries  is  this:  since  the 
hospital  was  opened  we  have  cared  for  736  min- 
isters or  dependent  members  of  their  families. 
This  work  has  been  done  at  a  cost  of  $128,500 
to  the  hospital,  physicians,  and  surgeons. 

"Further,  a  careful  estimate,  based  upon  the 
free  work  of  last  year,  shows  that  since  the  hos- 
pital was  opened  she  has  expended  in  free  work 
$945,000,  and  the  gratuitous  services  of  the 
physicians  and  surgeons  represent  at  least 
$846,000.  That  is,  $1,791,000  is  a  decidedly 
conservative  statement  of  the  free  work  of  the 
hospital,  attending  physicians  and  surgeons." 

It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  figures 


202  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


as  stated  represent  only  the  work  of  the  first 
twenty-five  years  of  the  hospital's  history. 
Since  their  rendering,  a  fifth  year  of  ever- 
growing enlargement  and  usefulness  for  the 
institution  has  been  entered  upon.  The  hos- 
pital to-day  has  properties  in  lands,  buildings, 
and  endowments  that  are  conservatively  worth 
$3,000,000.  It  has  modern  appliances  for  its 
work.  Its  medical  and  surgical  services  are 
unsurpassed.  Its  beneficent  mission  is  beyond 
all  description  or  measurement,  and  yet  it  is 
only  in  the  beginnings  of  its  history.  It  is  or- 
dained for  a  future  whose  ministries  of  bless- 
ing will  continue  richly  to  multiply  through 
indefinite  years.  In  this  history  its  originators 
and  early  supporters  will  perpetually  live  in 
the  ceaseless  service  of  humane  and  merciful 
deeds  which  the  institution  founded  by  them 
shall  make  continuously  possible  for  the  meet- 
ing of  human  needs. 

A  good  seed  planted  by  a  single  hand  in  a 
receptive  soil  may  yield  a  multiplied  fruitage 
of  beneficence.  Mr.  Seney  had  made  a  great 
beginning  to  this  hospital  when  his  ability  for 
further  giving  was  exhausted.  His  larger 
gifts  were  supplemented  by  donations  from  a 
multitude  of  other  givers,  many  of  whose  gifts 
were  notable  for  size  and  generosity.  The 


ACADEMIC  HONORS  203 


memorials  of  these  all  shall  never  perish.  But 
still  the  institution  was  critically  in  need  of 
large  benefactions.  When  Mr.  Seney's  work 
was  done,  the  finely  conceived  Administration 
Building  was  only  partially  finished,  still  re- 
quiring to  make  it  usable  the  outlay  of  a 
fortune  for  its  completion.  The  same  was  true 
also  of  one  of  the  fine  pavilions  whose  walls  and 
roof  were  only  outwardly  complete,  its  win- 
dows being  boarded  over,  and  its  entire  interior 
remaining  unfinished.  For  the  meeting  of 
these  larger  needs  there  was  in  preparation  a 
young  business  man  whose  ear  and  heart  were 
alike  open  to  the  Providential  call — ^Mr.  Wil- 
liam Halls,  Jr.  In  the  emergent  hour  Mr. 
Halls,  with  the  most  sympathetic  cooperation 
of  his  wife,  came  forward  with  successive  gifts 
aggregating  more  than  $175,000,  through 
which  both  the  Administrative  Building  and 
the  Pavilion  perfectly  completed  were  passed 
over  to  the  Board  of  Managers  as  working 
factors  for  hospital  use,  thereby  adding  more 
than  one  hundred  per  cent  to  the  practical  ca- 
pacity of  the  institution. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  writing  to  pre- 
sent a  history  of  the  hospital  further  than  as  it 
may  serve  to  illustrate  and  emphasize  the  in- 
fluence of  the  man  who  is  the  subject  of  this 


204  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


general  narrative.  The  forces  which  have  their 
birth  in  a  single  character  may  sometimes  be 
traced  to  large  fruitage.  Such  is  certainly  true 
in  this  instance.  The  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  to-day  might  be  in  possession  of  nu- 
merous well-equipped  hospitals  had  Dr.  Buck- 
ley never  lived.  But,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  there 
is  no  visible  evidence  that  such  would  be  the 
case.  In  any  event,  we  can  clearly  trace  the 
history  of  this  first  great  hospital  in  Methodism 
to  Dr.  Buckley  as  its  inspiring  source.  We 
know  that  as  editor  of  the  leading  journal  of 
his  denomination,  he  was  a  constant  and  power- 
ful educator  and  stimulator  of  conviction  in  the 
direction  of  creating  the  denominational  hos- 
pital. 

It  has  been  observed  as  a  matter  of  history 
that  great  and  needed  movements  often  spring 
simultaneously  in  creative  minds.  It  is  as 
though  some  seminal  influence  were  working  in 
the  general  atmosphere  of  the  time.  So,  as  Dr. 
Kavanagh  said  in  his  anniversary  address: 
"When  Dr.  Buckley  first  conceived  the  idea  of 
a  Methodist  Hospital,  others  in  other  places 
were  thinking  out  great  hospital  plans.  That 
this  was  the  case  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
while  our  hospital  was  opened  December  15, 
1887,  the  Wesley  Hospital  in  Chicago  was 


ACADEMIC  HONORS  205 


opened  Thanksgiving  Day,  1888.  Dr.  Scott 
Stewart,  of  Philadelphia,  was  also  planning  for 
a  hospital  at  the  same  time;  and,  accordingly, 
made  provision  in  his  will,  bearing  date  of 
November  1, 1877,  for  the  founding  of  a  Meth- 
odist Hospital  in  Philadelphia.  He  died  June 
29,  1881.  His  bequest  was  accepted  by  the 
Philadelphia  Conference  March,  1882,  and  the 
hospital  was  opened  for  the  reception  of  pa- 
tients April  21,  1892.  Others  followed  in  this 
succession,  as  near  as  we  can  secure  the  dates 
of  their  founding:  in  Cincinnati,  1890;  Minne- 
apohs,  1892;  Omaha,  1892;  Sibley  Memorial, 
Washington,  D.  C,  1894;  Seattle,  1898;  Des 
Moines,  1901;  Bethany  German,  Brooklyn, 
1902;  Indianapolis,  1905;  Boston,  1907;  Spo- 
kane, 1907;  Cleveland,  1908;  Los  Angeles, 
1909." 

Since  the  foregoing  enumeration  was  made, 
other  like  institutions  have  been  founded.  It 
would  be  simply  impossible,  either  in  statistics 
or  thought,  to  measure  the  beneficent  ministries 
conducted  within  the  walls  of  these  institu- 
tions. Their  skilled  and  merciful  touch  is  like 
the  Divine  Hand  laid  upon  the  diseases  and 
wounds  of  a  whole  army  of  suffering  men, 
women,  and  children.  The  institutions  alone, 
as  above  named,  form  a  great  and  illustrious 


206  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


succession,  a  succession  facing  a  future  of  con- 
tinuous enlargement  in  all  that  pertains  to  a 
merciful  ministry  to  man's  physical  needs. 
But  when  we  review  this  splendid  procession, 
we  hail  as  the  leader  and  the  greatest  of  them 
all,  the  one  institution  which  was  born  in 
the  vow  of  the  Stamford  pastor,  in  the  year 
1877. 

As  a  typical  example  of  the  Christian  motive 
and  spirit  which  pervade  the  work  of  this  hos- 
pital, it  seems  not  unfitting  that  a  hymn  com- 
posed for  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  occasion 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  F.  Watson  Hannan  should  be 
here  included. 

Beside  Bethesda's  fountain  cool. 

Once  stood  the  gracious  Lord; 
More  power  than  in  the  troubled  pool 

Was  in  his  healing  word. 

Through  all  the  ages  to  this  hour 

His  tender  help  was  near. 
He  ministers  through  human  power 

In  our  Bethesda  here. 

God  bless  the  hands  that  reared  these  walls. 

The  consecrated  wealth 
That  opened  corridors  and  halls 

To  those  who  seek  for  health. 

Physician's  skill  and  nurses'  care 

Make  patients  whole  again; 
And  through  the  power  of  fervent  prayer 

Comes  faith  that  conquers  pain. 


ACADEMIC  HONORS  207 


No  race  or  creed  a  bar  shall  be. 

No  test  to  cause  a  fear; 
Wide  as  the  Master's  sympathy 

Prevails  the  spirit  here. 

To  suffering  flesh  the  welcome  hands 

Extend  to  all  who  come. 
This  house  of  healing  ever  stands 

A  Hospital  and  Home. 

The  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  opening 
of  the  hospital  was  signalized  by  a  crowning 
event.  In  view  of  Dr.  Buckley's  long,  devoted, 
and  influential  services  to  the  institution,  it 
arose  in  the  hearts  of  his  friends  to  commemo- 
rate the  year  by  placing  a  bronze  bust  of  the 
president  of  the  Board  in  the  central  hall  of 
the  hospital  where  it  might  perpetually  stand 
as  a  memorial  of  his  work.  The  celebrated 
sculptor  Gutzon  Borglum  was  engaged  to 
execute  the  work.  The  event  of  presenting  the 
bust  was  duly  signalized  on  Monday,  February 
26,  1912,  by  a  "Testimonial  Luncheon"  given 
at  the  Hotel  Saint  Denis  in  'New  York  city. 
On  this  occasion  many  invited  guests  were 
present.  Mr.  John  M.  Bulwinkle,  of  Brook- 
lyn, was  toastmaster,  Happy  and  appropriate 
greetings  were  uttered  by  several  speakers,  to 
which  Dr.  Buckley  feelingly  and  fittingly  re- 
sponded. 

The  event  was  widely  noted  in  the  press. 


208  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


Hon.  St.  Clair  McKelway,  editor  of  the 
Brooklyn  Eagle,  himself  one  of  the  speakers 
of  the  occasion,  and  a  long  time  warm  personal 
friend  of  Dr.  Buckley,  wrote  as  follows : 

"Monday  was  an  occasion  in  the  life  of  Dr. 
Buckley.  Some  of  the  clerical  and  lay  mem- 
bers of  converging  Methodist  Conferences  and 
pastorates  vitalized  by  him,  signahzed  the  com- 
pletion and  unveiling  of  a  bronze  bust  of  this 
clergyman,  orator,  editor,  and  author,  and 
made  him  listen  to  what  they  thought  of  him. 
The  bust  is  the  creation  of  Gutzon  Borglum, 
the  celebrated  sculptor,  and  as  a  work  of  art 
and  vision  those  who  know  art  and  have  the 
prophetic  sense  declare  it  to  be  a  masterpiece. 
Its  home  is  to  be  the  hospital  of  whose  board 
of  trustees  the  doctor  is  the  head.  Besides  Mr. 
Borglum  some  other  speakers  were  Bishop 
Luther  B.  Wilson,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  of  Philadel- 
phia ;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Eugene  A.  Noble,  of  Dick- 
inson College,  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania;  James 
W.  Pearsall  of  the  Board  of  Trustees;  Judge 
George  G.  Reynolds,  of  Brooklyn;  Dr.  A. 
Ross  Matheson;  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  V. 
Kelley,  of  Brooklyn;  the  Rev.  Dr.  George  P. 
Eckman,  of  New  York;  the  Rev.  Ralph  B. 
Urmy,  of  Newark,  New  Jersey ;  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Robert  Bagnell. 


ACADEMIC  HONORS  209 


"The  addresses  were  eloquent,  sincere,  affec- 
tionate. Memory,  tribute,  humor,  and  hope 
marked  them,  and  love  crowned  all.  Besides, 
Abram  S.  Kavanagh,  D.D.,  chaplain  of  the 
hospital,  gave  the  nub  of  many  letters  from 
friends  who  could  not  be  present,  who  were 
sorry  they  could  not  be  and  who  opened  their 
hearts  to  Dr.  Buckley  and  his  hosts. 

"The  occasion  will  long  be  remembered. 
Few  men  equal  clergymen  in  public  addresses. 
'No  clergymen  excel  Methodist  ministers  in  the 
oratory  of  affection,  congratulation,  and  fel- 
lowship. .  .  .  Such  words  as  Bishop  Wilson, 
Judge  Reynolds  and  Dr.  Noble  said,  with  not 
a  few  words  of  other  men,  will  be  cherished  as 
wonders  and  models.  Best  of  all,  the  personal 
and  affectionate  side  of  Dr.  Buckley  were  mag- 
nified, his  learning,  his  controversial  and  his  lit- 
erary powers  being  well  enough  attested  by  his 
long  and  illustrious  career.'* 

"Whatever  dies,  or  is  forgot — 
Work  done  for  God,  it  dieth  not." 

"You  can  never  tell  when  you  do  an  act 

Just  what  the  result  will  be; 
But  with  every  deed  you  are  sowing  a  seed, 

Though  its  harvest  you  may  not  see. 
Each  kindly  act  is  an  acorn  dropped 

In  God's  productive  soil; 
Though  you  may  not  know,  yet  the  tree  shall  grow 

And  shelter  the  brows  that  toil." 


CHAPTER  X 


CHAUTAUQUA— WIT  AND 
WISDOM 

One  institution,  distinctly  American,  cos- 
mopolitan in  breadth,  for  the  promotion  of 
popular  education,  an  agency  of  unmeasured 
influence  and  efficiency,  itself  sustained  and 
vitalized  by  wide  public  sympathies,  is — Chau- 
tauqua. John  Heyl  Vincent,  intellectually  bril- 
liant, constructive  as  a  thinker,  sensitively  alive 
to  every  thought-movement  of  the  age,  a  man 
of  quickest  wit,  warm-hearted,  proverbially  the 
sympathetic  friend  and  sane  counselor  of  young 
life,  would,  by  sheer  force  of  personal  charm, 
culture  and  power,  most  naturally  win  for  him- 
self high  rank  among  the  elect  men  of  the  age. 
It  was  fitting  that  for  many  years  he  should 
hold,  par  excellence,  the  place  of  supreme 
standard  bearer  and  grand  marshal  of  the  great 
and  growing  Sunday  school  army  of  his  de- 
nomination. It  was  probably  inevitable  that 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  should  have 
made  him  a  bishop.  But  the  one  institution  in 
connection  with  which  Bishop  Vincent's  genius 

210 


CHAUTAUQUA  211 


received  most  impressive  accentuation,  and  the 
most  valuable  product  of  his  creative  talent, 
the  one  throne  of  his  supreme  and  most  valu- 
able influence,  the  one  movement  that  will  halo 
his  name  with  enduring  fame,  is — Chautau- 
qua. 

Chautauqua  is  unique.  As  a  single  organic 
institution  it  has  perhaps  more  nearly  than 
any  other  organization  in  America — probably 
in  the  entire  educational  world — ^worthily 
achieved  the  rank,  in  a  large  democratic  sense, 
of  a  popular  university.  From  its  early  history 
it  has  had  organized  departments  and  has  fur- 
nished facilities  for  popular  instruction  in 
nearly  all  useful  branches  of  knowledge.  Its 
platform,  on  whose  utterances  through  all  the 
years  untold  thousands  of  most  alert  young 
minds  have  waited  in  eager  and  expectant 
mood,  has  been  signally  honored,  first  and  last, 
by  the  presence  of  foremost  experts  from 
nearly  all  departments  of  human  thought  and 
learning.  Chautauqua  has  stood  for  no  "pent 
up  Utica"  of  ideas.  The  passport  to  its  teach- 
ing faculty — it  might  be  said  its  "Faculty  Cos- 
mopolitan"— irrespective  of  creed  or  race,  has 
inhered  simply  in  the  demonstrated  ability  and 
the  guaranteed  moral  character  of  the  teacher. 
Who  can  doubt  that  the  unstinted  hospitality. 


212  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


or  if  not  this,  at  least  the  generous  toleration, 
which  Chautauqua  has  always  shown  toward 
the  honest  intellectual  life,  carries  in  itself  a 
great  and  significant  lesson  for  the  moral 
teachers  of  the  age?  The  large  intellectual 
cathohcity  of  Chautauqua,  itself  a  long-recog- 
nized center  of  mental  stimulation,  of  moral 
healthfulness,  and  of  Christian  illumination, 
goes  far  to  explain  the  sustained  and  widely 
vitahzing  influence  of  the  institution  itself 
upon  the  popular  mind. 

Nothing  less  than  what  is  here  stated  would 
seem  an  adequate  introduction  to  Dr.  Buck- 
ley's personal  relations  to  Chautauqua.  The 
roster  of  Chautauqua  educators  and  lecturers 
holds  a  long  list  of  illustrious  names.  In  this 
list  are  represented  many  of  the  world's  fore- 
most celebrities.  It  is  clearly  within  the  facts, 
however,  to  say  that  of  this  famous  company. 
Dr.  Buckley  is  signally  the  dean  over  all. 
From  the  Chautauqua  platform,  in  all  its 
years,  no  one  has  uttered  so  many  wise  and 
witty  words,  and  on  such  a  variety  of  themes, 
as  has  he.  For  a  period  of  more  than  thirty^ 
years,  beginning  with  1877,  except  in  a  few 
instances  when  he  was  absent  from  the  country, 
he  spoke  successively  from  this  platform. 
Within  this  period,  including  his  sermons  and 


CHAUTAUQUA  213 


lectures,  he  spoke  to  a  Chautauqua  audience 
probably  not  less  than  one  hundred  times.  For 
many  years  he  also  conducted  annually  a 
"question  box."  His  continuous  assignment 
to  this  place  was  not  only  a  recognition  of  his 
cyclopedic  information,  but  a  tribute  as  well 
to  the  alertness  of  his  mind  and  the  lightning 
play  of  his  wit.  Dr.  Kelley  has  said:  "It  is 
marvelous  to  note  the  aptness,  the  blended  wit 
and  wisdom,  with  which  he  opens  the  Question 
Drawer  at  the  Chautauqua  Assembly.  All 
manner  of  queries,  some  philosophical  and 
some  silly,  receive  appropriate  answer  from 
that  rare  coordination  of  faculties,  a  full  mind 
and  a  ready  speech."  To  no  man's  wealth  of 
knowledge,  intellectual  resourcefulness,  or 
moral  sanity  could  there  be  given  more  conspic- 
uous acknowledgment  than  that  which  is  fur- 
nished in  Dr.  Buckley's  conceded  premiership, 
as  emphasized  by  nearly  a  full  generation  of 
years,  of  the  Chautauqua  platform. 

When  the  variety  of  subjects,  upon  all  of 
which  he  spoke  illuminatingly,  is  considered,  it 
seems  nothing  less  than  a  phenomenon  extraor- 
dinary that  any  one  man  could  speak  with  such 
readiness  and  fullness  upon  so  many,  and  often 
upon  so  diverse,  themes.  In  all  the  fields  of  his 
intellectual  activity  there  is  none  perhaps  in 


214  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


which  the  ready  wealth  of  his  resources,  the  un- 
restrained utterance  of  his  personal  opinions, 
and  the  spontaneous  play  of  his  humor  and  wit, 
appear  more  pronounced  or  to  better  advan- 
tage than  in  his  Chautauqua  life.  Any  record 
assuming  to  give  a  narration  of  Dr.  Buckley's 
life  which  should  fail  in  considerable  measure 
to  furnish  illustration  of  his  habitual  intellec- 
tual spontaneity,  could  not  be  judged  as  even 
approximating  at  all  ideally  the  real  purpose 
for  which  such  a  record  should  be  made.  There 
is  probably  no  cycle  of  his  activities  in  which 
this  quality  more  richly  or  more  naturally  ap- 
pears than  in  his  Chautauqua  utterances.  It  is 
this  conviction  which  decides  that  the  remain- 
ing section  of  this  chapter — and  let  it  be  gen- 
erous— shall  be  made  up  exclusively  of  his  own 
Chautauqua  words,  intermingled  perhaps  with 
an  occasional  comment  by  some  interested 
hearer.  Grateful  acknowledgment  is  here 
made  to  the  Chautauqua  Assembly  Herald  for 
permission  to  use  these  extracts.  On  the  occa- 
sion of  his  twenty-seventh  lecture,  the  As- 
sembly Herald  said:  "An  audience  limited  only 
by  the  standing  and  seating  capacity  of  the 
vast  Amphitheater  is  a  strong  attestation  to  the 
popularity  of  Dr.  Buckley  at  Chautauqua. 
His  lectures  are  always  the  most  entertaining, 


CHAUTAUQUA  215 


and,  moreover,  always  have  in  them  some  very- 
helpful  and  sensible  suggestions." 

Questions  and  Answers 

Question:  What  is  the  higher  criticism? 
Answer:  Well,  the  higher  criticism  professes 
to  have  respect  to  the  literature  of  the  Bible 
and  the  text  of  it.  If  understood,  I  suppose  it 
means  that  it  pursues  carefully  and  inquires 
whether  the  Bible  books  were  written  by  the 
men  whose  names  appear  there.  That  is  a 
legitimate  subject  for  inquiry.  Also  whether 
every  part  of  the  books  is  inspired.  Some  of 
them  were  plainly  not  written  by  the  men 
whose  names  appear  there,  and  others  have 
been  added  to  in  various  ways.  These  are  all 
proper  subjects  of  study.  While  we  give  at- 
tention to  this,  we  should  give  the  same  rever- 
ence to  the  Old  Testament  as  to  the  New.  If 
the  Old  is  false,  the  New  is  a  delusion.  Put 
that  down  on  the  authority  of  Jesus  Christ.  It 
was  not  faultless.  If  it  were  perfect,  there 
would  be  no  room  for  the  second. 

Question  :  Do  you  think  the  time  will  ever 
come  when  we  shall  be  able  properly  to  com- 
bine oxygen,  hydrogen  and  carbon,  etc.,  and 
thereby  secure  our  food  without  waiting  for 


216  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


nature  to  produce  it?  Answer:  Do  you  mean 
to  ask  me  if  I  think  that  the  time  will  come  that 
I  never  can  get  a  piece  of  apple  pie  such  as  my 
mother  used  to  make?  If  so,  let  me  pass  away 
first.  I  have  eaten  some  of  those  chemical  com- 
binations. They  all  lack  the  flavor.  Artificial 
eggs  can  be  produced  that  will  do  for  omelet; 
but  they  have  not  the  flavor  of  the  natural  egg ; 
and  you  cannot  hatch  them. 

Question:  Do  you  think  Christian  Science 
is  antagonistic  to  the  Christian  religion?  An- 
swer: There  never  was  anything  so  much  so. 
It  is  more  so  in  its  results  to  Christianity  and 
Christ  than  Ingersollism  is.  If  you  do  not  be- 
lieve that,  it  is  because  you  do  not  understand 
Christian  Science,  or  have  not  thought  it  over 
and  through.  There  are  a  number  of  deceived 
persons  whose  feelings  I  would  not  want  to 
wound,  but  I  profess  to  understand  Christian 
Science  to  the  very  bottom  of  it.  I  paid  one 
hundred  dollars  for  lectures  and  am  acquainted 
with  the  leading  advocates  and  professors  of  it 
and  know  all  about  it  that  anybody  knows,  and 
I  tell  you  that  in  fact  it  is  evil,  only  evil,  and 
that  continually.  There  is  a  personal  God  or 
there  is  no  God.  There  is  actual  sin  or  there  is 
no  sin.   There  is  prayer  or  there  is  no  prayer; 


CHAUTAUQUA  217 


and  if  Christian  Science  is  true,  there  are  none 
of  those  three  things. 

Question  :  How  much  truth  is  there  in  hyp- 
notism? Answer:  Hypnotism  is  a  power. 
The  same  thing  has  forty  or  fifty  different 
names,  such  as  electrobiology,  animal  magnet- 
ism, mesmerism,  idiopathy.  The  thing  itself 
has  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  it.  The  word  or 
name  "hypnotism"  is  merely  a  word. 

Question:  Should  the  Chautauqua  plat- 
form be  broad  enough  to  hold  Robert  Inger- 
soU?  Answer  :  If  it  is,  I  shall  put  on  sackcloth 
and  ashes,  and  never  look  at  it  again  so  long  as 
the  world  stands.  Robert  Ingersoll!  Do  you 
want  the  most  wonderful  eulogy  of  whisky? 
He  has  uttered  it.  Do  you  want  to  see  the  man 
who  threw  himself  in  favor  of  repealing  all  the 
laws  which  exclude  obscene  pictures  from  the 
mails?  He  signed  a  petition  for  that  purpose. 
Do  you  want  here  an  eloquent  denier  of  Chris- 
tianity and  a  man  who  ridicules  Jehovah?  If 
so,  he  is  the  man.  Give  not  that  which  is  holy 
unto  the  dogs.  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  is  a 
very  pleasant  person,  but  Chautauqua  is  not  a 
circus.  Chautauqua  is  a  Christian  institution, 
a  Christian  university,  a  place  where  God  is 
honored  and  Christ  believed  in,  a  place  where  a 


218  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


thousand  martyrs  could  be  found  for  the  truth 
which  this  man  ridicules  throughout  the  world. 

Questions:  Do  you  believe  in  the  nation's 
great  outlay  for  warships?  Will  it  not  induce 
other  nations  to  go  and  do  likewise  ?  Answer  : 
I  think  that  the  most  magnificent  preparation 
for  peace  is  to  be  thoroughly  prepared  for  war. 
I  thoroughly  believe  in  the  principle  declared 
by  the  late  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  that  our  unpro- 
tected coast  would  be  a  strong  temptation  to 
the  nations  of  the  world  to  declare  war  against 
us.  I  do  not  believe  that  we  have  gone  suffi- 
ciently far  in  protecting  our  coasts.  We  can 
dispense  with  standing  armies,  for  the  armies 
of  other  nations  cannot  easily  reach  us  if  our 
coasts  are  properly  protected.  More  warships 
rather  than  fewer  is  my  notion. 

Question:  How  do  you  explain  the  mate- 
rialization of  spirits  ?  Answer  :  I  explain  it  on 
the  principle  that  it  is  a  lie. 

Question:  What  do  you  think  of  the 
Science  of  Health,  by  Mrs.  Eddy?  Answer: 
I  read  that  book  six  times.  It  is  a  mass  of  sep- 
arate statements  many  of  which  are  absurd. 
Some  of  the  statements  are  well  written  though 
contradictory.    Mrs.  Eddy  says  in  that  book 


CHAUTAUQUA  219 


that  many  persons  have  been  cured  merely  by 
the  reading  of  her  book.  But  I  want  you  to 
understand  that  whatever  has  such  power  for 
curing  must  have  equal  power  for  producing 
disease.  Therefore  you  would  better  be  care- 
ful. 

Question:  Where  now  are  the  disembodied 
spirits  of  Christian  friends?  Answer:  I  ac- 
knowledge that  question  is  too  much  for  me.  I 
do  not  know  anything  about  it.  The  school 
men  used  to  debate  how  many  angels  could 
dance  on  the  point  of  a  needle.  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  comprehending  a  matter  of  that 
kind.  I  do  not  know  where  they  are.  I  do  not 
know  but  spirits  have  the  power  of  working  in 
and  out  where  other  things  are.  I  neither 
know  nor  care  about  it.  If  it  were  of  any  im- 
portance to  me  as  a  Christian  it  would  be  re- 
vealed in  the  Bible. 

Question:  If  you  had  a  friend,  a  youth 
sixteen  years  old,  who  had  the  disease  called 
skepticism  and  was  drifting  into  unbelief, 
what  treatment  would  you  prescribe?  An- 
swer: None  at  all.  Let  him  alone.  He  be- 
longs to  either  one  of  two  classes — either  he  has 
the  foundation  of  good  sense  in  his  constitution 
which  will  enlarge  as  he  grows  older  and 


220  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


slough  off  everything  that  is  absurd,  or  he  has 
not.  If  he  has,  by  setting  him  a  good  Christian 
example,  talking  intelligently  on  religion  and 
not  wearying  him  with  it,  praying  for  him, 
being  very  kind  to  him,  his  common  sense  will 
come  along  and  your  character  will  save  him 
by  the  Spirit  of  God.  But  if  you  tell  him  he  is 
a  simpleton — which  no  doubt  is  the  fact  and 
therefore  he  can't  appreciate  it — you  will  make 
him  angry.  On  the  other  hand,  if  he  has  not 
common  sense,  no  treatment  you  could  pre- 
scribe would  do  any  good.  Let  him  go.  One 
of  the  greatest  evils  is  to  be  continually  pre- 
scribing treatment  for  boys  about  sixteen  be- 
cause of  their  immature  ideas.  You  might 
as  well  prescribe  treatment  for  their  size  to 
make  them  grow  faster  than  they  can. 

Question  :  In  reading  a  book  do  you  think 
that  persons  of  ordinary  average  intelhgence 
can  acquii'e  the  habit  of  reading  ideas  without 
reading  book  words?  Answer:  Why,  cer- 
tainly. Xow,  the  first  degree  of  reading  is 
this,  to  read  letters ;  and  it  is  very  hard  to  learn. 
According  to  one  of  Dickens's  characters,  it  is 
hardly  worth  going  through  so  much  to  learn 
so  httle.  The  next  is  to  read  little  words  by 
spelling  the  letters.   The  next  is  to  read  large 


CHAUTAUQUA  221 


words  at  sight.  It  took  me  a  long  time  to  learn 
to  read  the  word  "acknowledgment"  at  sight 
and  tell  it  from  any  other  word.  The  next 
degree  is  to  read  sentences  at  sight  as  you  read 
sign-boards.  Now  you  come  to  the  fifth  degree 
and  that  is  to  read  paragraphs.  You  can  hold 
up  anything  I  never  saw  and  give  me  a  glance 
at  it,  provided  the  type  is  good  enough  for  me 
to  see  it  distinctly,  and  I  can  turn  around  and 
talk  five  minutes  on  that.  That  is  a  habit  I 
have  acquired  in  my  business,  and  therefore  I 
state  to  you  that  it  can  be  acquired.  And  the 
last  degree  is  to  pay  no  attention  to  words  at 
all  but  look  down  the  page  grasping  the  idea. 
The  mind  instantly  thrusts  aside  all  that 
amount  of  verbiage  which  is  necessary  to  pro- 
duce grammar.  You  can  condense  any  sen- 
tence if  you  get  rid  of  what  is  required  to  keep 
up  your  reputation  as  a  grammarian.  No  per- 
son can  read  well  in  public  who  does  not  read 
ideas  instead  of  words.  The  reason  that  we 
have  so  many  poor  readers  is  simply  that  they 
read  words.  In  many  cases  elocution  teachers 
teach  that  and  nothing  else. 

Question:  Does  the  pope  take  The  Chris- 
tian Advocate?  Answer:  A  copy  of  The 
Christian  Advocate  goes  regularly  to  Rome  to 


222  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


a  high  Roman  ecclesiastic.  Don't  you  think  for 
a  moment  that  the  Catholics  depend  on  omnis- 
cience or  infallibility  for  information. 

Question:  Who  was  Cain's  wife?  An- 
swer: The  woman  he  married. 

Question  :  Is  it  as  reasonable  to  expect  per- 
fection in  man  in  his  spiritual  nature  as  in  other 
things  ?  Answer  :  It  is  wholly  unreasonable  to 
expect  it  anywhere.  Perfection  is  a  much  mis- 
understood doctrine.  Christian  perfection  is 
not  freedom  from  infirmities.  There  is  no  good 
definition  of  Christian  perfection  in  the  world, 
and,  as  a  rule,  the  person  that  dogmatically 
declares  he  possesses  it  will  prove  he  has  none 
of  it  if  you  contradict  him. 

Question  :  When  a  minister  is  called  to  visit 
and  pray  with  the  sick,  has  he  authority  to 
anoint  with  oil?  Answer:  Only  on  one 
ground — that  he  is  a  fool  or  a  fanatic;  and  then 
he  gets  his  authority  from  his  limitations. 

Question  :  What  is  your  opinion  of  the  ex- 
isting divorce  laws  of  the  United  States  and 
their  effect  upon  society?  Answ^er:  We  have 
a  great  many  States,  and  the  laws  are  not  the 
same  in  any  two  of  them  absolutely.  My  opin- 
ion is  that  the  State  has  to  have  more  reasons 


CHAUTAUQUA  223 


for  divorce  than  the  seventh  commandment.  I 
think  the  Bible  allows  two  causes  for  divorce 
very  plainly :  first,  violation  of  the  seventh  com- 
mandment; and,  second,  willful  desertion,  but 
I  do  not  think  the  church  ought  to  be  held  to 
these  two  only.  When  a  man  is  sent  to  prison 
for  hfe,  for  murder,  he  is  legally  dead  to  his 
wife  and  she  ought  to  have  a  divorce.  In  the 
State  of  New  York  when  a  man  stays  away  ten 
years,  and  is  not  heard  from,  I  hold  the  wife  is 
entitled  to  a  divorce  even  if  the  violation  of  the 
seventh  commandment  cannot  be  proven,  on 
the  presimiption  that  if  alive  he  has  been  guilty. 
I  believe  too  if  a  man  endeavors  to  poison  his 
wife  and  it  is  proved,  it  ought  to  be  a  ground 
for  divorce.  I  beheve  another  thing  in  this 
way:  Here  is  a  woman  whose  husband  is  a 
wretch  and  everyone  knows  it,  but  they  can't 
get  any  legal  evidence.  In  a  church  court  I 
would  receive  evidence  of  that  man's  general 
character,  and  I  would  allow  the  court  to  find 
that  a  man  of  his  character  would  probably 
violate  the  seventh  commandment,  and  grant 
her  a  divorce.  I  have  investigated  this  matter 
and  find  a  long  list  of  men  in  favor  of  my  views, 
some  of  which  I  have  given  you  above. 

Question:  What  do  you  think  of  Ehsha's 


224  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


making  the  iron  swim?  Answer:  I  think  it 
was  a  very  remarkable  circmnstance. 

Question:  Do  you  think  it  is  possible  for 
any  of  om*  dead  friends  to  come  back  here  and 
shake  hands  with  us?  Answer:  I  once  called 
for  one  that  had  only  four  fingers  and  he  came 
back  and  shook  hands  with  me  with  five. 
Therefore  I  am  ready  to  believe  anything. 

Question  :  Do  you  think  the  heathen  world 
can  or  will  be  saved  without  a  knowledge  of 
Christ?  Answer:  My  belief  is  that  every  man 
who  lives  up  to  the  light  he  has  will  be  saved, 
and  no  one  else  will. 

Question:  What  is  the  real  object  of  the 
new  woman?  Answer:  The  Lord  knows,  I  do 
not.  But  I  am  a  very  careful  observer. 

Question  :  Is  it  possible  for  an  honest  man 
to  get  a  drink  of  liquor  in  Kansas  ?  Answer  : 
I  don't  know,  I  never  tried. 

Question  :  Is  heredity  nothing  and  environ- 
ment everything  in  the  formation  of  character? 
Answer:  That  is  mere  rhetoric.  Heredity 
helps  some  more  than  environment,  and  hurts 
some  more  than  environment.  Environment 
helps  or  hurts  some  more  than  heredity.  But 
heredity  and  environment  are  the  two  great 


CHAUTAUQUA  225 


factors  which,  with  our  limited  self -regulating 
power,  are  to  develop  in  us  a  glorious  character 
and  destiny,  or  otherwise.  In  one  branch  of 
my  family,  from  time  immemorial,  the  great 
toe  has  been  an  inch  longer  than  the  second 
toe,  and  I  am  the  individual  to  whom  that  has 
descended.  That  is  heredity.  If  it  can  deal 
with  one  end  of  the  body  in  that  way,  what  is 
the  reason  that  it  cannot  deal  with  the  other 
extensively  ? 

Question  :  What  do  you  think  of  Christian 
Science  as  a  religion?  Answer:  You  might 
as  well  ask  me  what  I  think  of  Christian 
Science  as  a  branch  of  mathematics.  It  has 
nothing  to  do  with  it  at  all. 

Question:  What  is  the  condition  of  the 
brain  of  a  woman  who  attempts  to  do  knitting 
and  f ancywork  and  digest  a  lecture  at  the  same 
time?  Answer:  I  thought  of  that  yesterday, 
when  I  came  to  the  temperance  meeting  in  the 
afternoon,  and  saw  sixteen  women  by  actual 
count,  on  one  side  of  the  house,  busy  sewing 
and  knitting,  but  I  did  not  know  that  the  ques- 
tion was  going  to  be  here.  I  will  say  this,  that 
some  httle  work  that  does  not  take  a  particle  of 
thought  helps  some  people  to  think.  There 
was  a  celebrated  lawyer  who  could  not  speak 


226  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


unless  he  had  something  or  other  in  his  hand, 
and  Charles  G.  Finney  was  wholly  unable  to 
preach  unless  he  could  catch  the  button  of  his 
suspender  with  his  thumb.  In  one  case,  when 
the  button  gave  away,  he  absolutely  stopped 
in  the  presence  of  a  congregation  of  two  thou- 
sand, excused  himself,  went  out  into  the  ante- 
room, and  pinned  things  up  strongly  and  came 
back;  and  in  a  minute  after  he  got  back  he 
made  them  all  forget  it  in  describing  the  terrors 
of  the  Judgment.  I  do  not  know  but  these 
women  are  unable  to  think  without  something 
of  that  kind.  I  do  not  know  that  they  are  able 
to  think  with  it.  If  they  are  not  able  to  think 
without  it,  it  does  them  no  harm;  it  makes  no 
noise,  and  perhaps  they  would  be  talking  if 
they  did  not  do  that.  It  does  not  help  a 
speaker  very  much  to  look  at  a  woman  and  see 
her  busy  sewing.  Consequently,  an  intelligent 
speaker  never  looks  at  that  class  of  people. 

Question:  Define  woman's  sphere?  An- 
swer: That  is  an  unripe  chestnut.  It  is  still 
under  discussion.  I  have  my  views,  and  per- 
haps you  can  guess  them. 

Question:  Has  the  world  gained  anything 
by  using  the  fork  instead  of  the  knife  in  eat- 
ing? Answer:  Yes.  It  has  gained  variety. 


CHAUTAUQUA  227 


Question  :  What  is  your  conception  of  God? 
Answer  :  I  solemnly  declare  to  you  that  I  have 
none,  none  whatever.  I  speak  right  out  into 
the  universe.  I  do  not  lift  up  my  head  par- 
ticularly, except  for  form's  sake;  in  public  and 
private  I  kneel  for  the  reflex  influence  of  devo- 
tion. But  I  have  no  conception  of  God.  I 
have  no  white  throne  in  my  horizon.  God  is 
above  me  completely.  He  is  the  mystery  of  the 
universe.  But  I  believe  in  him  with  all  my 
heart. 

Question:  Is  it  just  that  I  should  be 
damned  for  Adam's  sin?  Answer:  You  never 
will  be.  Your  own  personal  account  is  so 
large  that  Adam's  sin  will  not  enter  into  the 
calculation. 

Question:  Aside  from  Bible  statements, 
what  proofs  are  there  of  man's  immortality? 
Answer:  No  proofs  whatever,  but  many  indi- 
cations and  many  things  that  will  agree  with 
the  idea,  if  once  accepted,  on  the  testimony  of 
revelation;  but  no  proofs. 

Here  is  something:  Question:  Is  the  old 
saying  that  the  ends  of  the  hair  should  be  cut 
at  the  time  of  the  new  moon,  in  order  that  it 
may  become  healthy  and  have  a  good  growth, 
a  fact  or  simply  a  whim?  Answer:  Don't  you 


228  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


know  that  hair  is  a  superfluity,  that  evolution 
progresses  upward,  and  goes  through  the  hair 
and  leaves  it  behind?  Do  not  do  anything  in 
the  new  moon  except  what  you  would  do  if 
there  were  no  moon,  and  above  all,  don't  be- 
come moonstruck.  Most  of  the  great  men  of 
antiquity  were  bald,  except  Samson,  and  it 
would  have  been  a  great  advantage  to  him  if  he 
had  been. 

Question:  What  are  the  principal  causes 
why  we  have  so  many  nonchurchgoers  among 
the  laboring  classes  ?  Answer  :  Dullness  in  the 
pulpit  is  one,  and  greater  dullness  in  the  pew  is 
another.  Running  the  church  in  a  semi-femi- 
nine way  is  a  very  serious  one.  Now,  the  phi- 
losophy of  this  remark  is  this:  women  will  be 
at  church  anyway.  Let  women  themselves, 
and  the  minister,  and  everybody  else,  try  to 
make  the  church  attractive  to  the  men.  I  al- 
ways endeavored  to  get  men  to  attend  the 
church.  I  never  advertised  a  sentimental  title 
that  would  draw  women  and  young  people.  I 
advertised  titles  that  intelligent  men  would 
care  to  hear  discussed,  if  they  could  get  there. 
When  they  came  their  wives  were  so  glad  to 
have  their  husbands  go  to  church  that  they 
came  with  them;  and  often  their  daughters 


CHAUTAUQUA  229 


were  so  surprised  to  see  their  father  going 
with  their  mother  that  they  went  too.  And, 
under  these  circumstances,  everybody  knows 
that  the  young  men  would  be  there. 

Question:  What  is  the  seating  capacity  of 
the  Chautauqua  Amphitheater?  Answer: 
When  they  exhibit  something  here  that  does 
not  tax  the  brain,  count  the  people,  and  you 
will  have  your  answer. 

Question  :  What  is  the  oldest  newspaper  in 
the  world?  Answer:  The  Gazette,  of  Peking. 
It  is  more  than  a  thousand  years  old ;  and  every 
editor,  up  to  about  thirty  years  ago,  had  died 
from  the  sudden  loss  of  his  head. 

Request:  Please  explain  how  Chautauqua 
Lake  is  the  source  of  the  Mississippi  River? 
Response:  I  will  do  it  when  you  explain  how 
the  Delaware  River  flows  by  Constantinople. 

Question  :  Is  marriage  a  f  ailure  ?  Answer  : 
You  know  what  the  Jew  said,  when  they  put 
that  question  to  him.  He  said  that  if  a  girl  is 
an  orphan,  and  has  $150,000  in  her  own  right, 
it  is  almost  as  good  as  a  failure. 

Question:  Do  you  know  why  the  Amer- 
icans are  victorious  on  the  Sabbath ?  Answer  : 
You  are  one  of  the  persons  who  have  been 


230  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


caught  by  the  secular  press  about  the  fact  that 
two  or  three  things  have  happened  on  Sunday. 
Do  you  know  that  churches  have  been  struck 
by  hghtning  on  Sunday,  and  the  beer  breweries 
and  whisky  distilleries  were  not  struck  at  all? 
Think  of  it.  It  proves  that  God,  according  to 
your  idea,  favors  the  breweries.  Let  me  tell 
you  this :  no  battle  was  ever  fought  on  Sunday, 
under  any  circumstances,  where  one  or  both 
sides  did  not  think  they  were  more  ready  on 
that  day  than  they  had  been  on  Saturday,  or 
would  be  on  Monday.  And  the  same  is  true 
of  every  other  day  in  the  year. 

Question  :  Has  an  audience  any  rights  that 
a  speaker  is  bound  to  respect?  Has  a  citizen 
any  rights  that  a  policeman  is  bound  to  re- 
spect? Answer:  Yes.  But  if  he  strikes  the 
policeman  in  the  face,  what  then?  Has  he  any 
rights  then  that  will  prevent  the  policeman 
from  drawing  and  using  his  club?  The  ques- 
tion, therefore,  is  to  be  answered  as  follows:  A 
respectful,  attentive,  decorous  audience  has  a 
right  to  demand  of  a  speaker  his  very  best ;  but 
a  disrespectful,  inattentive,  indecorous  audi- 
ence has  only  the  right  to  be  thrashed  with  the 
speaker's  tongue.  A  personal  experience  en- 
ables me  to  say  that  there  is  no  pleasure  so 


CHAUTAUQUA  231 


sweet  under  such  circumstances  as  that  which 
a  speaker  then  feels.  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
said,  "God  calls  on  me  for  the  grace  of  hu- 
mility, and  I  am  slow  to  respond.  He  calls 
upon  me  for  the  grace  of  indignation,  and  I 
answer  in  a  moment."   Such  is  life. 

Question:  Do  you  think  that  flying  ma- 
chines will  ever  become  a  practical  means  of 
conveyance?  Answer:  I  do.  I  expect  to  see 
flying  machines  within  a  few  years.  What 
have  I  not  seen?  I  have  seen  the  telegraph, 
known  the  inventor,  and  had  explained  from 
his  own  lips  all  the  whole  proceedings ;  and  the 
telephone,  and  the  phonograph,  and  the  elec- 
tric light,  and  a  thousand  things  as  wonderful 
as  flying. 

Question:  How  is  it  that  with  young  peo- 
ple's strong  desire  for  a  fine  personal  appear- 
ance, they  will  persist  in  smoking,  drinking, 
riding  and  dressing  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
injure  health  and  consequently  form  and 
beauty?  Answer:  Simply  because  they  are 
simpletons.  Of  all  follies  commonly  practiced, 
excepting  drinking  intoxicating  liquors,  smok- 
ing in  excess  is  one  of  the  worst  respecting  its 
effects  on  health.  Many  doctors  who  smoke 
will  deny  that  at  once.   The  fact  in  the  case  is 


232  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


that  it  injures  a  great  many  persons  and  a 
larger  number  only  a  little;  and  those  that  it 
injures  a  httle  say  that  it  does  not  injure  them 
at  all.  Anything  that  makes  one  feel  good  as 
a  result  of  its  contact  with  any  of  the  internal 
organs  without  digestion  and  assimilation,  so 
that  if  one  does  not  have  it  he  feels  badly,  that 
thing  of  necessity  is  pernicious.  Those  who 
understand  the  human  system  know  this  must 
be  the  case. 

Question:  Was  Socrates  a  Christian?  An- 
swer: No.  Every  Christian  must  be  a  fol- 
lower of  Christ.  He  was  probably  a  good 
man ;  if  he  was,  he  went  to  heaven  when  he  died. 
"God  is  no  respecter  of  persons.  In  every  na- 
tion he  that  feareth  God  and  worketh  right- 
eousness is  accepted  with  him." 

Question  :  Mr.  Moody  being  an  uneducated 
man,  to  what  was  his  extraordinary  power  for 
winning  souls  due?  Answer:  He  was  not  an 
uneducated  man.  He  was  one  of  the  most  thor- 
oughly educated  men  in  this  country.  You 
seem  to  have  the  idea  that  education  consists  of 
knowledge  in  the  contents  of  certain  books,  or 
of  getting  a  knowledge  of  them  in  a  certain 
place.  There  are  few  graduates  in  America 
that  have  been  out  of  college  twenty  years. 


CHAUTAUQUA  233 


except  professors,  who  know  as  much  as  Mr. 
Moody  when  he  was  fifty  years  old,  or  had  read 
more  books,  or  had  more  ideas  clearly  defined. 
Of  course  his  education  did  not  in  most  cases 
cover  the  same  range. 

Question:  What  is  religion?  Answer:  A 
man  has  an  intellect,  a  heart,  a  conscience,  a 
will.  Conscience  consists  of  two  parts — the 
judging  part  and  the  feehng  part.  There  is 
not  a  worse  guide  in  the  world  than  conscience 
if  the  judging  part  is  not  properly  instructed. 
A  religious  man  is  one  having  right  ideas  about 
God,  morality,  truth,  inmiortality  in  his  mind, 
and  having  his  heart  disposed  to  do  what  his 
mind  shows  him  to  be  right ;  he  therefore  under- 
takes to  do  that,  live  in  all  good  conscience, 
prays  to  God,  becomes  like  God.  Religion,  if 
the  heart  were  not  involved,  is  only  a  theory. 
If  you  add  to  philosophy  a  good  heart  properly 
developed,  you  have  a  religious  man. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  once  told  by  his 
Secretary  Stanton  that  a  man  had  acted  in  an 
outrageous  manner  and  that  he  should  write 
him  the  most  scorching  letter  ever  written. 
Lincoln  said  that  was  right,  "But  let  me  see 
the  letter."  Stanton  wrote  the  letter,  showing 
the  man  to  be  a  scoundrel.  Lincoln  said:  "It  is 


234  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


a  tremendous  thing.  Xow  you  have  reheved 
yourself,  burn  it  up." 

Question:  What  has  become  of  the  May- 
flower? Answer:  It  is  a  reasonable  presump- 
tion that  it  has  rotted  out  by  this  time. 

Question  :  What  are  the  best  divisions  of  a 
sermon?  Answer:  The  exordium  and  the  per- 
oration. The  little  boy  who  said,  "The  begin- 
ning was  good,  and  the  ending  was  good,  but 
there  was  too  much  in  the  middle,"  was  prob- 
ably right. 

Question:  What  do  you  consider  Roose- 
velt's strongest  trait  of  character?  Answer: 
Push. 

Question  :  Why  do  so  many  Christians  have 
such  a  woebegone  expression?  Why  do  so 
many  people  not  Christians  have  such  a  desper- 
ate look?  Answer:  Few  Christians  who 
understand  their  privileges  and  have  not  mel- 
ancholia or  hypochondriasis  have  a  woebegone 
expression.  Yet  some  of  the  happiest  people 
do  look  sad,  and  some  of  the  most  miserable 
manage  to  wear  a  cheerful  look. 

Question:  Give  a  brief  and  comprehensive 
statement  of  the  belief  of  an  agnostic.  An- 


CHAUTAUQUA  235 


swer:  I  will.  He  is  a  professional  know- 
nothing  in  all  religious  matters. 

Question:  Do  you  believe  in  woman  suf- 
frage? Answer:  I  am  so  well  contented  with 
the  women  which  the  last  generation  has  given 
us  that  I  do  not  wish  to  risk  a  serious  change 
in  woman's  relation  to  the  state. 

Question:  Is  the  healing  principle  in  faith 
healing  and  Christian  Science  the  same?  An- 
swer: There  is  no  "principle  of  healing"  in 
any  of  them.  The  healing  is  done  by  the 
strength  of  the  medicine  of  nature.  Believe 
and  you  will  be  healed,  says  the  faith-healer. 
The  mental  scientist  simply  produces  certain 
conditions  in  the  mind  of  the  person  to  be 
healed.  The  Christian  Scientist  denies  the 
reality  of  disease  and  forbids  thinking  about  it. 
I  know  this  to  be  true,  for  I  have  healed  people 
that  way  myself. 

Question  :  What  are  the  strongest  elements 
of  Roman  Catholic  organization?  Answer: 
Striking  ceremonies;  relation  of  priest  to  peo- 
ple ;  the  spectacular  liturgies,  and  a  strong  ele- 
ment is  this:  they  are  taught  they  cannot  do 
without  the  church,  where  many  of  the  Protes- 
tant denominations  teach  the  people  the  church 
cannot  do  without  them. 


236  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


Request:  Please  tell  us  the  best  joke  you 
know.  Response  :  I  was  traveling  in  the  West 
and  fell  into  conversation  with  a  gentleman. 
We  talked  a  long  time  and  he  said  on  parting, 
"I  believe  you  are  a  minister."  "I  am  a  New 
York  editor,"  I  said.  "Good  heavens!"  he 
exclaimed,  "what  a  mistake  I  have  made!" 
I  then  told  him  that  I  was  both,  but  he  said  that 
was  too  much  for  any  one  man. 

Question:  Is  a  college  education  always 
beneficial  to  a  young  man?  Answer:  A  col- 
lege education  is  always  beneficial  to  a  yoimg 
man  who  has  pursued  it  thoroughly,  provided 
he  doesn't  develop  a  kind  of  snobbishness  be- 
cause he  is  a  collegian.  If  he  won't  come  back 
to  his  father's  business  and  put  on  a  red  flan- 
nel shirt,  if  needs  be,  he  has  failed.  But  there 
it  is  his  fault  and  not  that  of  his  college. 

Question:  What  is  love?  Answer:  If  you 
ever  had  it,  you  know.  If  not,  none  can  tell 
you. 

Question:  What  ought  to  be  done  with 
tainted  money  ?  Answer  :  A  remarkable  piece 
of  speculative  fanaticism  has  been  agitating  the 
American  people  for  the  last  four  months.  I 
consider  the  whole  talk  on  that  subject  ridicu- 
lous. When  I  lived  in  Stamford,  Connecticut, 


CHAUTAUQUA  237 


I  was  collecting  money  for  the  aid  of  the  widow 
of  an  organist  killed  by  accident.  I  did  not 
visit  the  saloons,  but  a  saloon  keeper  came  out 
and  contributed  fifty  dollars.  I  don't  believe 
in  rum,  but  I  took  it.  I  say  that  any  man  who 
offers  money  to  which  he  has  a  legal  right  has 
a  right  to  devote  it  to  some  good  service.  This 
is  the  best  use  you  can  make  of  it.  If  you  can't 
take  a  man's  money  when  he  offers  it  for  a  good 
purpose,  you  can't  trade  with  him.  If  these 
dissenters  buy  a  drop  of  Standard  Oil,  they  are 
exactly  in  the  same  position  as  those  who  re- 
ceive bequests. 

Request:  Explain  the  origin  of  sin.  Re- 
sponse: I  am  more  concerned  with  its  cure 
than  how  I  got  it. 

Question:  Why  are  all  men,  even  the  best 
of  them,  so  selfish?  Answer:  Perhaps  because 
they  have  to  look  out  for  the  wiles  and  craft  of 
the  other  human  inhabitants  of  the  earth. 

Question:  How  should  the  United  States 
government  deal  with  the  anarchists?  An- 
swer: I  refer  you  to  Secretary  Bonaparte,  who 
says  that  the  light  cases  should  be  thrashed,  the 
next  should  be  imprisoned  for  an  indefinite 
period,  and  those  who  advocate  anything  that 
has  caused  murder  should  be  hanged.    I  have 


238  JAMES  MOXROE  BUCKLEY 


no  sympathy  with  the  people  who  say  that  pen- 
alty has  no  place  in  punishment.  We  have 
more  homicides  and  less  convictions  than  any 
other  civilized  country.  Russia  in  time  of 
peace  is  not  so  homicidal  as  the  United  States. 
For  proof  of  this,  I  refer  you  to  statistics  by 
Andrew  D.  White,  ex-minister  to  Germany, 
and  the  first  president  of  Cornell  University. 

Question:  Should  children  be  allowed  to 
read  novels?  Answ^er:  Certainly,  if  they  are 
well  selected.  I  would  not  sell  out  the  memory 
of  Robinson  Crusoe  or  Pilgrim's  Progress. 
Our  Lord's  parables  were  novels  in  a  definite 
sense.  They  are  not  actual  history,  are  not  put 
forth  as  such,  and  are  not  calculated  to  deceive 
or  injure. 

Question  :  Is  the  "big  stick"  policy  the  best 
for  the  United  States?  Answer:  Certainly 
it  is,  if  it  hits  the  right  head  with  the  right 
amount  of  force.  There  is  no  real  governing 
without  a  big  stick  somewhere. 

Question:  At  what  age  should  a  minister 
retire?  Answer:  Supposing  him  to  be  in 
working  condition,  he  ought  not  to  retire  from 
the  work  until  the  work  begins  to  retire  from 
him.   Josh  Billings  said  to  me  in  the  cars  one 


CHAUTAUQUA  239 


day  that  he  would  retire.  I  asked  why.  He 
said,  "I  leave  the  platform  to  avoid  the  mel- 
ancholy fate  of  seeing  the  platform  leave 
me." 

Question  :  Don't  you  think  the  apostle  Paul 
was  something  of  a  Christian  Scientist  when 
he  made  this  statement,  "Be  ye  transformed  by 
the  renewing  of  your  mind"?  Answer:  Well, 
I  don't  think  so,  for  the  Bible  tells  us  that  he 
took  Luke  the  beloved  physician  with  him  on 
his  journeys.  Paul,  a  Christian  Scientist? 
Why,  he  did  not  get  rid  of  his  thorn  in  the 
flesh.  Paul,  a  Christian  Scientist?  He  writes, 
"Trophimus  I  left  at  Miletum  sick."  He  says, 
speaking  of  Epaphroditus,  "Indeed  he  was  sick 
nigh  unto  death:  but  God  had  mercy  on  him; 
and  not  on  him  only,  but  on  me  also,  lest  I 
should  have  sorrow  upon  sorrow."  Paul  knew 
no  more  about  Christian  Science  than  he  did 
about  automobiles. 

Question:  You  think  apparently  that 
woman's  sphere  is  home,  where  she  should  cul- 
tivate all  the  finer  qualities.  What  would  you 
suggest  to  be  done  with  the  woman  who  has  no 
home  and  who  has  to  earn  a  living  or  starve? 
Ought  she  to  die?  Answer:  She  should,  by  all 
means.   Of  course  she  should  die.   "It  is  ap- 


240  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


pointed  unto  man  once  to  die,  and  after  death 
the  judgment."  But  I  know  of  hundreds  of 
women  without  homes  or  famihes  and  they  are 
not  starving  or  dying.  Let  a  woman  move  by 
affection  and  intuition  in  the  situation  in  which 
God  has  placed  her  and  men  will  defer  to  her. 
I  have  no  objection  to  women  working.  I  have 
even  no  objection  to  women  appearing  on  the 
platform,  if  they  preserve  their  womanliness. 
If  I  were  on  a  desert  island  where  there  were 
three  hundred  and  sixty-seven  women  and  five 
men,  I  would  advocate  woman  suffrage.  You 
see  my  theory.  As  Artemus  Ward  said,  "I 
will  not  further  adumbrate  it." 

Question  :  Is  it  correct  to  call  the  parables 
the  first  fiction?  Answer:  The  parables  are  as 
much  fiction  as  Robinson  Crusoe  or  Bunyan's 
Pilgrim's  Progress.  In  the  parables,  as  in 
these  other  works,  the  thing  told  is  not  a  reality, 
but  the  spirit  and  the  teaching  underlying  them 
is  a  great  reality. 

Question:  Do  you  know  of  any  sure  cure 
for  masculine  baldness  ?  Answer  :  This  is  a  hit 
at  me.  I  can  say  that  since  my  roof  has  been 
unthatched  I  have  never  had  to  worry  whether 
my  hair  is  parted  and  I  have  never  had  a  head- 
ache. 


CHAUTAUQUA  241 


Wit  and  Wisdom 

Philosopher  (to  boatman  rowing  philos- 
opher across  lake) :  Do  you  understand 
astronomy? 

Boatman :  No ;  I  don't  know  what  that  word 
means. 

Philosopher:  Then  one  half  of  your  life  has 
been  lost.  Do  you  understand  philosophy? 

Boatman:  No;  I  never  heard  of  philosophy. 

Philosopher:  Then  a  quarter  more  of  your 
life  is  gone. 

(Boat  upsets  and  throws  them  both  out.) 

Boatman:  Do  you  swim? 

Philosopher:  No. 

Boatman:  Then  the  whole  of  your  life  is 
gone. 

A  great  many  men  are  called  liars — they 
only  speak  symbolically. 

The  poetry  through  which  to  reach  the  heart 
of  a  Harvard  College  graduate  and  hard-work- 
ing lawyer  at  the  close  of  a  day  of  hard  work  is 
the  poetry  of  a  mutton  chop. 

A  student  in  what  was  the  East  Windsor 
Theological  Seminary  undertook  to  preach 
there  one  Sunday  in  one  of  the  old  churches. 
This  church  had  been  so  reduced  that  there  was 


242  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


scarcely  a  person  who  regularly  attended  there 
who  was  under  fifty  years  of  age,  and  the  con- 
gregation did  not  amount  to  more  than  thirty 
or  forty  persons  on  a  fair  day.  This  young 
man  had  not  many  sermons,  and  took  the  one 
he  was  most  familiar  with.  There  was  in  the 
congregation  a  maiden  lady  of  about  fifty-two, 
and  also  her  mother,  who  still  hved  at  the  age 
of  eighty.  The  old  lady  always  went  to  church, 
but  she  was  slightly  deaf,  and  when  the 
daughter  found  the  text  and  showed  it  to  the 
old  lady  she  would  read  it.  On  this  occasion 
the  old  lady,  with  that  loud  whisper  which  all 
deaf  people  have,  when  the  text  was  read  to 
her,  whispered  to  her  daughter,  "He  is  barking 
up  the  wrong  tree  here" ;  for  the  text  was  "Flee 
also  youthful  lusts." 

Some  claim  to  tell  a  man's  character  by  his 
gait.  Well,  now,  it  is  a  singular  thing,  this 
matter  of  gait.  Did  you  ever  hear  the  story 
of  the  poor  boy  who  saw  an  old  gentleman  that 
was  bandy-legged  standing  in  front  of  the  fire ; 
he  never  saw  anjrthing  of  the  kind  before,  and 
he  said,  "Come  away  from  the  fire,  you  are 
warping." 

The  late  Horace  Greeley  wrote  rapidly,  but 
very  illegibly.   He  wrote  a  letter  at  one  time 


CHAUTAUQUA  243 


to  James  Gordon  Bennett  and  sent  it  to  him 
by  a  boy.  Bennett  could  not  read  a  line  of  it, 
and  said  to  the  boy  that  brought  it:  "What 
does  the  old  fool  mean?  Take  it  back."  The 
boy  took  it  back.  Greeley  did  not  recognize  it 
and  said,  "What  does  the  fool  mean?"  Said 
the  boy,  "That's  what  the  other  man  said." 

At  one  time  a  missionary  was  coming  home 
from  India  and  he  heard  a  man  ridiculing  the 
missions  of  India ;  he  said  he  had  been  in  India 
for  several  years  and  had  not  seen  a  native 
Christian  convert,  and  gave  an  account  of  the 
tiger  hunts  he  had  seen ;  he  had  participated  in 
over  a  dozen ;  seen  more  than  a  hundred  tigers, 
and  more  than  twenty  killed.  Then  came  the 
missionary's  opportunity;  he  said,  "I  have 
hved  in  India  many  years  and  have  never  seen 
a  tiger.  I  have  seen  many  converts  there.  You 
went  for  tigers  and  you  saw  them.  I  went  for 
converts  and  made  them."  A  man  sees  what 
he  takes  with  him. 

Once  Dr.  Buckley  on  his  way  to  Denver  sat 
at  the  same  table  with  another  man,  these  two 
being  the  only  passengers  in  the  dining  car. 
They  talked  upon  every  subject,  each  skirmish- 
ing to  ascertain  the  profession  of  the  other.  Of 
this  incident  the  Doctor  says:  "No  man  can 


244  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


find  out  that  I  am  a  minister  of  the  gospel 
unless  I  wish  him  to.  He  thought  I  was  a 
lawyer,  and  he  gave  me  some  legal  knowledge. 
I  thought  he  was  a  doctor,  and  gave  him  some 
medical  pointers.  Then  I  thought  he  was  an 
insurance  man  or  that  he  was  a  banker  and 
gave  him  problems  as  to  interest,  and  so  on.  I 
afterward  came  to  the  conclusion  he  was  a 
naturahst,  and  went  into  the  discussion  of  the 
flora  and  fauna  of  that  region.  Then  I  edged 
toward  religion.  At  first  he  did  not  take  it  up ; 
after  that  he  repeated  to  me  a  most  magnificent 
passage  of  the  liturgj^  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. I  came  in  with  the  litany,  and  he  came 
in  with  the  Te  Deum,  and  we  carried  it  on 
through.  Still,  we  knew  nothing  about  each 
other.  At  last  we  exchanged  cards.  Who  do 
you  think  he  was?  "Lord  Dundreary."  So  I 
got  inside  the  theatrical  profession,  not  by  the 
door,  but  by  some  other  way. 

Just  after  Mr.  Beecher  avowed  himself  what 
was  subsequently  called  a  mugwump,  he  went 
into  a  barber  shop  presided  over  by  a  brother 
of  African  descent  and  said,  "Do  you  shave 
mugwumps?"  Mr.  Beecher  is  seldom  worsted 
in  contests  of  wit,  but  the  answer  he  evoked, 
he  afterward  acknowledged,  confused  him. 


CHAUTAUQUA  245 


"Sah,"  he  said,  "I  shave  anything  that  has  hair 
and  cash.  I  have  no  prejudice  that  interferes 
with  business,  sah." 

Speaking  of  prejudice,  I  will  name  the  most 
demonstrative  manif esters  of  prejudice,  the 
Scotch  and  Irish.  Now,  if  you  can  get  a  witty 
Scotchman,  you  have  the  wittiest  man  in  the 
world,  if  you  have  the  patience  to  wait  for  him. 
And  if  you  get  a  witty  Irishman  you  have  the 
most  magnificent  expresser  of  pantomime. 
One  of  the  witty  Irishmen  was  talking  with 
a  Scotchman  about  this  country,  and  said,  "It 
is  a  great  country  over  there."  "Have  you  any 
lakes  equal  to  Loch  Lomond?"  said  the  Scotch- 
man. "Yes,"  said  the  Irishman,  "there  is  one 
lake  over  there  so  big  you  could  sink  all  Scot- 
land in  it  and  not  find  where  it  was  except,  per- 
haps, by  the  smell  of  whisky." 

How  are  we  to  be  sure  that  we  are  not  under 
the  control  of  prejudice?  Simply  by  this  proc- 
ess. Any  time  we  find  ourselves  getting  red 
hot  upon  any  subject,  and  using  three  adjec- 
tives where  we  would  otherwise  use  two,  and 
think  such  a  man  a  fool  because  he  does  not 
agree  with  us  in  any  favorite  position,  rein- 
vestigate the  thing  from  the  bottom  up.  Let 
us  buy  books  of  the  men  who  do  not  agree  with 


246  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


us  and  hear  the  men  who  hold  the  opposite  doc- 
trine, and,  better  yet,  make  their  full  acquaint- 
ance. To  judge  a  person  by  first  impressions 
is  death  and  destruction  all  the  time.  Try  peo- 
ple, and  beUeve  in  them  until  you  find  them 
wrong. 

Egotism  is  one  person  talking  of  himself 
when  you  want  to  talk  of  yourself. 

Christianity  teaches  that  a  man  can  pray  to 
God  for  anything  he  feels  as  a  Christian  he 
needs,  and  that  he  can  believe  that  his  prayer 
will  be  a  potent  factor  in  the  divine  operations 
concerning  him. 

Christianity  does  not  authorize  man  to  be- 
lieve that  God  has  surrendered  the  exercise  of 
his  infinite  attributes,  either  to  the  caprice,  the 
ignorance,  or  the  limitations  of  man.  It  does, 
however,  emphatically  teach  that  God  will 
answer  every  prayer  in  one  of  two  ways. 
Either  he  will  cause  to  come  to  pass  the  spe- 
cific things  for  which  we  ask,  or  he  will  give 
unto  us  a  spiritual  blessing  which  will  make 
even  the  deprivation  of  these  specific  things  a 
greater  means  of  grace  to  us  than  the  gift  of 
that  specific  thing  could  have  been.  Nowhere 
does  it  teach  us  explicitly  that  we  shall  have 
what  we  pray  for. 


CHAUTAUQUA  247 


When  Jesus  prayed  in  the  garden  of  Geth- 
semane  he  prayed  as  a  man.  Theology,  and 
metaphysics  of  course,  would  confound  us 
here.  It  makes  no  difference  who  or  what 
Jesus  was  to  the  interpretation  of  the  passage 
which  he  uttered  as  a  prayer  several  times ;  for 
the  prayer  implies  a  disposing  power  in  the 
Almighty  and  a  natural  desire  in  the  express 
petition  in  the  prayer  of  Christ:  "If  it  be  pos- 
sible, let  this  cup  pass  from  me;  nevertheless 
not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt."  "If  it  be 
possible" — as  he  was  addressing  God,  must 
mean  it  to  be  possible  in  harmony  with  the 
high  purpose  which  God  is  to  accomplish 
through  Christ — "let  this  cup  pass  from  me; 
nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt." 
No  prayer  of  any  Christian  that  goes  beyond 
that  has  any  authority  in  Christianity.  Athe- 
ism would  be  preferable  to  the  belief  that  a 
capricious  man  can  compel  God  by  any  prayer 
that  he  may  offer. 

Two  Christian  Science  women  undertook  to 
tell  me  that  I  did  not  need  glasses  to  see  any- 
thing near  at  hand  if  I  would  only  reject  the 
belief  that  there  was  anything  the  matter  with 
my  eyes,  and  that  I  would  never  be  short- 
sighted or  long-sighted,  and  that  I  could  see  as 


248  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


well  without  glasses  as  with  them,  whereas  the 
ocuhst  whom  I  consulted  said  I  had  a  disease 
of  the  eyes  and  I  might  take  my  choice, 
whether  to  buy  a  pair  of  glasses  or  a  pair  of 
tongs,  so  that  I  could  hold  things  far  enough 
off  to  see.  Alas !  one  of  those  very  women  now 
sports  a  pair  of  eyeglasses;  but  still  she  is  a 
Christian  Scientist,  and  why  shouldn't  she  be? 
She  gets  fifty  dollars  for  six  lectures,  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  for  eighteen 
lectures,  and  she  is  so  busy  teaching  people 
these  wondrous  truths  that  she  has  no  time  to 
treat  any  cases;  and  is  thus  relieved  from  a 
great  responsibility. 

If  you  want  to  test  Christian  Science  give  it 
a  case  of  bad  corns  or  in-growing  toenails  to 
cure. 

I  asked  Dr.  J.  M.  Buckley  to  tell  me  some- 
thing of  his  methods  of  work.  He  told  me  that 
usually  it  is  better  to  work  only  when  one  is  in 
the  mood,  provided  the  man  loves  his  work  and 
has  moods  often.  But  sometimes  a  man  is  not 
in  the  mood,  but  cannot  tell  why.  His  own 
com^se  in  such  a  case  is  first  to  try  something 
else  quite  unlike  the  work  intended.  Then 
sometimes  it  is  possible  after  waking  up  on  this 
to  switch  over  to  the  other.    If  this  fails,  he 


CHAUTAUQUA  249 


takes  a  short,  sharp  walk,  say  of  a  mile,  and 
returning  tries  again.  Failing  again,  he  works 
at  little  things  that  are  dispatched  in  a  few 
moments  one  after  another.  Unless  ill,  he  can 
save  the  day  by  this  sort  of  work  which  must 
be  done  at  some  time.  "Occasionally,"  said  he, 
*'I  have  been  too  restless  for  this,  and  then,  if 
possible,  I  get  into  an  argument  with  some 
good-humored  friend  with  whom  on  a  current 
topic  there  is  some  difference  of  opinion.  If 
still  the  dullness  lingers,  I  count  that  day  lost 
for  work,  whether  its  low  descending  sun 
shines  on  some  good  deed  or  not." 

No  one  living  can  look  into  a  man's  face 
and  tell  what  he  is,  provided  there  are  no  signs 
of  physical  vices. 

It  is  not  for  us  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  the 
beliefs  and  doubts  of  another,  but,  rather,  to 
receive  him  in  our  midst  unquestioningly,  pro- 
vided he  do  not  thrust  his  doubts  upon  us,  or 
burden  us  with  doubtful  disputations.  For 
him  who  earnestly  interrogates  the  Word  of 
God  there  will  be  returned  an  answer  suited  to 
his  spiritual  needs.  Preserve  the  strictest  ad- 
herence to  your  own  views  and  absolute  allow- 
ance to  the  beliefs  of  others. 


250  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


A  few  years  ago  I  was  delivering  a  lecture 
here  on  "Cranks;  or,  How  Not  to  Go  Mad." 
I  had  occasion  to  quote,  during  the  lecture, 
from  some  foreign  authors,  and  in  the  report 
which  appeared  the  name  of  one  of  these 
authors  was  misspelled,  and  the  quotation  from 
a  work  of  his  was  inaccurately  given.  Some 
time  afterward  I  received  from  the  gentleman 
whom  I  had  quoted  a  letter — the  result  of  his 
having  seen  the  imperfect  report  of  my  lec- 
ture. He  was  really  insulting ;  said  that  I  had 
attributed  to  him  something  he  never  said,  that 
I  had  even  misspelled  his  name,  and  that  he 
didn't  believe  I  had  ever  read  the  book.  I  re- 
plied to  his  letter,  explaining  how  the  mistakes 
had  occurred,  and  then  took  occasion  to  say,  in 
referring  to  his  criticism,  that  I  had  read  his 
book  very  carefully — had  read  it  through  three 
times,  and  to  convince  him  that  I  was  familiar 
with  its  contents  I  would  remind  him  of  one 
statement  made  therein  in  which  he  said  that 
"Bitter  impatience  is  frequently  a  sign  of  ap- 
proaching lunacy." 

WHiatever  may  be  said  of  Darwin's  theory, 
this  is  perfectly  certain,  there  are  many  tribes 
of  men  on  earth  capable  of  being  distinguished 
from  the  more  cultivated  animals  only  by  their 


CHAUTAUQUA  251 


figure  and  their  capacity  as  a  race  of  being 
developed.  Whatever  you  may  do  with  any  of 
the  lower  animals  year  after  year — as  a  speaker 
once  observed — ^take  for  example  the  ass ;  train 
him  year  after  year  and  you  will  only  have  the 
same  ass  you  see  before  you  to-day. 

You  shake  hands  with  your  neighbors.  It 
originated  in  the  time  before  the  invention  of 
gunpowder.  When  two  men,  who  were  en- 
emies still,  were  about  to  make  a  truce,  met, 
they  grasped  each  other  by  the  weapon-hand, 
so  there  could  be  no  treachery  while  they  were 
talking.  That  is  the  first  grasp  of  the  hand 
that  history  mentions. 

There  should  be  courtesy  always  between  a 
man  and  his  wife.  In  courtship  it  is  all  cour- 
tesy and  it  is  a  cloak  that  hides  their  natures 
from  each  other,  but  how  often  they  stop  as 
soon  as  they  are  married.  Do  not  carry  it 
as  far  as  the  man  who  always  aroused  his  wife 
when  he  awoke  in  order  to  shake  hands  with 
her.  What  an  awful  reflection  it  is  upon 
America  that  Josh  Billings  could  say  that 
"The  observation  of  fifty  years  convinced  him 
that  if  a  man  and  a  woman  sat  in  a  train,  and 
he  looked  out  of  the  window  and  she  looked 
up  and  down,  they  were  married.   But  if  they 


252  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


conversed  in  the  most  delightful  manner  they 
were  either  going  to  be  married  or  were  not 
married  at  all."  Almost  all  domestic  troubles 
could  be  prevented  if  a  little  more  courtesy- 
were  used  in  our  homes.  Talk  about  a  man's 
falling  in  love  with  his  wife — he  ought  to  do  it 
if  he  has  not  already  done  so.  He  ought  to  fall 
in  love  with  her  every  day  and  she  ought  to 
fall  in  love  with  him.  If  she  believes  there  is 
a  man  in  the  world  that  altogether  is  superior 
to  him,  she  ought  to  try  to  deceive  herself.  He 
should  believe  that  no  man  ever  did  find,  or 
could  find,  a  woman  better  adapted  to  him 
than  she  is.  If  it  is  not  a  fact,  and  they  both 
know  it,  even  then  genuine  courtesy  will  enable 
them  to  be  happy  together  after  love  has 
ceased,  and  they  will  have  more  happiness  and 
peace  with  each  other,  under  one  roof,  than 
those  who  love  but  are  always  uncourteous. 

August  4, 1897.  Chancellor  Vincent,  Presi- 
dent Lewis  Miller  and  Dr.  J.  M.  Buckley  were 
the  only  veterans  on  the  platform  who  were 
there  twenty-four  years  ago.  Dr.  Buckley 
said:  "When  I  contrast  an  audience  like  this 
with  the  first  day,  I  have  to  say  to  you  that  the 
most  wonderful  thing  in  all  the  world  is,  that  a 
brain  conceived  Chautauqua.    All  this,  and 


CHAUTAUQUA  253 


more,  was  in  the  brain  of  Chancellor  Vincent 
and  his  colleague  when  this  place  was  laid  out. 
As  well  as  if  it  were  yesterday,  I  remember  the 
words  Chancellor  Vincent  uttered  to  me  on 
these  grounds,  *  If  I  do  not  entirely  miss  my  cal- 
culation,' he  said,  'this  is  the  beginning  of  a 
great  movement.'  Blessings  be  upon  the  heart 
that  conceived  it." 

A  microscope  now  shows  that  at  the  lowest 
calculation  there  are  six  hundred  millions  sep- 
arate cells  in  the  gray  matter  of  the  brain. 
.  .  .  There  is  nothing  in  nature,  nothing  in 
botany,  more  beautiful  or  regular  than  the 
human  brain.  And  when  you  put  the  brain  of 
an  intelligent  man  beside  the  brain  of  an  idiot, 
or  a  Hottentot,  you  can  see  the  better  what 
civilization  has  done  for  your  brain,  and  on 
what  civilization  itself  depends. 

Now,  in  regard  to  the  changes  that  take 
place.  There  is  a  scar  on  my  finger,  as  distinct 
as  it  has  been  for  half  a  century,  that  was  made 
by  a  hatchet  which  I  took  up  contrary  to  the 
orders  of  my  mother.  During  that  period, 
nature  has  been  changing  my  substance  and 
reproducing  that  scar.  Any  soldier  here  that 
bears  honorable  scars  for  his  country  has  them 
still,  because  nature,  when  it  receives  an  impres- 


254  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


sion,  reproduces  it.  I  have  no  doubt  that  I 
shall  destroy  a  hundred  thousand  cells  by  de- 
hvering  this  lecture,  and  before  I  shall  have 
finished,  thousands  of  them  will  be  in  my  veins, 
on  the  route  to  the  world,  by  every  eliminating 
process.  I  am  absolutely  certain  that  my 
morning  repast  is  lecturing  to  you  now.  All 
the  laws  of  physiology  prove  that.  I  have 
assimilated  the  simple  ingredients  which  I  in- 
gested. They  must  be  in  the  blood ;  they  must 
be  in  the  brain.  If  I  had  not  blood  enough,  I 
would  faint  and  fall;  if  I  had  too  much  blood, 
I  would  have  a  stroke  of  apoplexy.  No  organ 
in  the  body  proceeds  so  rapidly  in  nutrition  as 
the  brain,  for  more  blood,  relatively,  goes  there, 
and  it  goes  faster,  even  against  gravity,  than 
elsewhere.  So  it  is  as  easy  for  the  brain  to 
make  these  new  impressions  as  it  is  for  the  hand 
to  make  them.  When  you  connect  this  train  of 
thought  with  the  disease  of  the  memory,  and 
processes  of  reproduction,  you  will  be  surprised 
to  see  how  a  great  many  things  are  explained. 

A  man  who  rides  a  bicycle  on  the  sidewalk  is 
a  foe  to  humanity,  and  ought  to  be  crowded  off 
the  curbstone. 

With  regard  to  the  Sabbath.  If  I  lived  four 
miles  from  the  church  I  would  go  to  church  on 


CHAUTAUQUA  255 


the  bicycle.  If  I  wanted  to  see  a  sick  woman, 
or  a  sick  man,  on  Sunday,  as  a  pastor,  and  it 
was  too  far  to  walk,  I  would  go  on  the  bicycle. 
Essentially,  the  bicycle  is  like  a  carriage,  or 
like  a  horse,  or  like  my  own  legs.  In  itself 
considered,  it  is  as  right  to  ride  a  bicycle  on 
Sunday  as  on  any  other  day.  .  .  .  There 
is  no  man  that  goes  out  bicychng  on  Sunday 
for  pleasure  that  conducts  family  prayers  in 
any  proper  sense  of  the  word.  Remember,  it 
is  not  merely  that  a  man  stays  away  from 
church  to  ride  the  bicycle  for  pleasure  on  Sun- 
day, though  that  is  wrong ;  it  is  that  being  away 
from  church  divorces  him  from  Christian  influ- 
ences. 

But  some  one  will  say,  "It  is  the  only  chance 
I  get  to  ride."  Is  it?  Get  up  earlier  in  the 
morning.  If  you  wish  to  ride,  and  save  your 
soul,  you  can  ride  in  the  morning,  in  the  eve- 
'  ning,  and  on  holidays.  I  give  the  bicycle  great 
credit  for  enabhng  thousands  of  men  to  go 
home  to  dinner  that  never  could  do  it  before. 
It  is  a  marvelous  benefit,  and  compensates  in  a 
great  degree  for  many  evils.  But  when  you 
come  to  putting  anything  the  bicycle  can  do 
against  growth  in  grace,  against  your  influ- 
ence over  your  children,  against  your  influence 
over  young  men,  I  assure  you  it  is  a  terrible 


256  JAMES  MOXROE  BUCKLEY 


mistake.  In  the  present  condition  of  affairs 
no  Christian  should  ride  a  bicycle  on  Sunday 
on  any  account,  unless  advertised  practically 
that  he  was  going  on  an  errand  of  charity, 
mercy  or  devotion,  for  he  would  be  compromis- 
ing the  Sabbath  by  sanctioning  the  pleasure- 
riding  usages  that  have  grown  up. 

(There  can  be  no  doubt  that  if  Dr.  Buck- 
ley were  speaking  at  the  present  date,  he  could 
substitute  "automobile"  for  "bicycle"  in  all 
the  foregoing  quotation. — G.  P.  M.) 

A  young  maiden  lady  said  to  a  young  man 
of  her  acquaintance,  "What  is  the  matter  with 
you?  You  often  seem  to  be  real  manly,  and 
then  you  are  the  most  effeminate  person  I  ever 
knew.  How  do  you  explain  it?"  Said  he:  "I 
suppose  it  is  explained  by  the  law  of  heredity. 
One  half  of  my  ancestors  were  mascuHne  and 
the  other  half  feminine." 

"How  did  you  find  the  plaintiff,"  said  a 
lawyer  to  a  doctor,  "when  you  first  saw  him?" 
"I  found  him  with  the  right  integument  in  a 
tumefied  state.  I  found  very  much  ecchymosis 
into  surrounding  cellular  tissues.  I  found 
considerable  extravasation  of  blood."  Said 
the  judge,  "Do  you  mean  that  he  had  a 
black  eye?"    "Yes,"  said  the  doctor.  "Then 


CHAUTAUQUA  257 


why  did  you  not  tell  the  jury  so?"  replied 
the  judge. 

There  is  a  monument  in  Madrid  in  honor  of 
a  bull  which  slew  a  lion,  wild  and  untamed, 
brought  from  Africa  for  the  purpose;  then  he 
slew  a  tiger,  and  then  a  lion  and  a  tiger  to- 
gether. And  nothing  stood  before  him  until 
a  wild  elephant  was  brought  there  to  fight  with 
that  bull;  and  the  elephant  managed  him  as 
some  women  manage  their  husbands — he  "sat 
down  on  him"  and  broke  his  back. 

It  is  Dr.  Buckley's  humble  opinion  that 
Theodore  Roosevelt  would  have  been  a  duelist 
had  he  hved  in  the  days  of  Andrew  Jackson, 
and  as  a  sort  of  proof  he  cites  the  story  of 
"Teddy's"  boxing  match  with  three  ruffians  in 
the  hire  of  an  Albany  boss.  After  having 
humbled  them  in  the  dust  each  in  turn,  or  all 
at  once,  some  half  a  dozen  times,  until  they 
cried  for  mercy,  he  turned  upon  them  with  his 
blandest  smile,  saying:  "I  know  who  got  this 
up.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  and  to  him — I 
have  not  enjoyed  myself  so  much  for  half  a 
year." 

The  college  men  of  the  highest  type  are  the 
salt  that  is  to  save  a  republic  like  this.   A  re- 


258  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


public  must  be  under  the  control  of  men  of  the 
highest  moral  development  and  symmetrical 
culture.  The  number  of  men  of  this  sort  that 
a  country  has  is  the  measure  of  that  country's 
strength. 

A  reform  should  never  go  exceedingly  fast. 
You  can  cure  a  man  of  round  shoulders  by  a 
slow  process  of  massage,  and  exercise,  and 
making  him  walk  up  stairs  with  Webster's  dic- 
tionary on  his  head,  but  if  you  squeeze  him  in 
a  vise  he  would  be  straight  for  about  a  minute 
and  a  quarter  and  then  he  would  be  straight  in 
his  cofiin. 

The  proper  method  of  taking  a  bath  is  first, 
take  a  coarse  towel  and  wringing  every  drop 
of  water  out  of  it  that  it  is  possible  to  get  out 
rub  yourself  vigorously  from  top  to  toe.  Next 
take  a  second  towel,  wet  it,  and  without  wring- 
ing it  rub  yourself  thoroughly  with  that.  The 
next  step  is  to  douse  yourself  completely  with 
water,  then  rub  yourself  off  first  with  your 
hands  and  afterwards  with  a  towel.  After 
such  a  bath  a  person  feels  sufficiently  invigor- 
ated to  attempt  anything. 

Many  of  the  brightest  minds  I  have  known 
have  lost  their  influence  in  church  and  state  by 
plagiarizing. 


CHAUTAUQUA  259 


Illustrating  the  power  of  money  to  corrupt 
legislation,  a  man  arose  in  the  Assembly  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  asked,  "Is  this  the 
house  that  Vander-built?"  "No,"  replied  an- 
other, "the  house  that  Vander-bought." 

The  foregoing  and  somewhat  extended  list 
of  quotations  from  Dr.  Buckley's  Chautauqua 
sayings  form  really  but  a  minor  fraction  in 
the  total  sum  of  his  equally  spontaneous  and 
sapient  utterances  from  the  same  platform.  It 
is,  I  think,  correctly  judged  that  these  sayings, 
as  illustrative  of  his  alert  mental  resourceful- 
ness, are  worthy  of  permanent  place  in  the  nar- 
rative of  his  life.  The  eager  thousands  waited 
upon  his  speech,  because  from  his  very  fullness 
he  was  a  prodigal  dispenser  of  sentiments  com- 
mon to  Mf e — sentiments  which  awakened  in  the 
hearts  of  multitudes  the  human  response.  He 
possessed  the  unusual  gift  of  insight  and  power 
which  enabled  him  to  translate  into  plain 
speech  for  common  uses  the  experiences  and 
emotions  which  most  vitally  relate  themselves 
to  the  hfe  of  men.  He  had  the  genius  for 
teaching  how  to  "honor  every  truth  by  use." 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  MAl^^^ 

The  bodily  appearance  of  Dr.  Buckley- 
stands  in  somewhat  marked  contrast  when 
compared  with  his  mental  stature.  He  is  about 
five  feet  six  inches  high.  He  is,  in  proportion 
to  his  height,  long-bodied  and  short-limbed. 
His  vital  functions  are  well-roomed.  Mounted 
above  all,  is  a  head  calling  for  a  seven  and  one 
half  inch  hat.  To  use  the  figure  of  Disraeli,  he 
literally  stands  "on  his  head." 

His  old  friend  and  great  admirer,  the  late 
St.  Clair  McKelway,  editor  of  the  Brooklyn 
Eagle,  thus  sketches  his  appearance:  "The  per- 
sonality of  Dr.  Buckley  is  interesting.  Meet- 
ing him  casually  in  the  street,  or  in  a  throng, 
the  more  careless  even  would  be  attracted  and 
impressed  by  him,  yet  in  outward  appearance 
he  is  far  removed  from  the  popular  ideal  of  a 
great  man.  It  would  not  be  said  of  him  as 
was  said  of  Daniel  Webster  in  London  that 
*no  one  was  ever  so  great  as  he  looked  to  be.' 
He  does  not  measure  up  to  that  ideal  so  finely 
expressed  in  Bismarck,  nor  even  in  Gladstone, 
who,  if  he  had  not  the  height,  had  the  bulk.  As 

260 


THE  MAN 


261 


a  matter  of  fact,  Dr.  Buckley  is  rather  insig- 
nificant as  to  frame.  It  is  his  head  and  face 
that  take  and  hold  attention.  Candor  compels 
the  statement  that  it  is  not  the  beauty  and  reg- 
ularity of  his  features  that  is  impressive,  but, 
rather,  the  massiveness  of  the  head,  the  intel- 
lectual strength  and  power  stamped  on  the 
face,  and  those  remarkable  eyes — ^glowing,  ab- 
sorbing, penetrating,  all  embracing.  It  may 
be  surprising  to  those  who  have  never  seen  Dr. 
Buckley,  but  know  of  him  as  a  controversial 
gladiator  who  receives  the  hard  blows  he  invites 
gaily  and  returns  them  with  a  joyous  laugh, 
that  he  is  man  of  under  size,  of  a  frame  so  slight 
that  it  would  seem  as  if  his  head  had  gotten 
astray  from  its  proper  body  and  had  been 
joined  to  one  barely  if  at  all  able  to  support  it. 
Yet  withal  there  is  no  suggestion  of  feebleness 
or  want  of  vigor." 

Bishop  Fowler  once,  perhaps  somewhat 
facetiously,  described  Dr.  Buckley  as  follows: 
"He  is  short  of  stature,  like  Saint  Paul,  stand- 
ing five  and  a  half  feet  in  his  stockings,  and 
weighing  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  He  is 
bald-headed  like  Socrates.  He  has  dark  thin 
whiskers  and  moustache,  his  eyes  are  round, 
dark,  and  steady.  He  is  nervous,  quick  and 
ready,  yet  calm,  deliberate,  and  authoritative." 


262  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


Judge  Wheeler,  once  in  introducing  Dr. 
Buckley  from  the  lecture  platform,  in  a  series 
of  very  witty  sentences  declared  that  on  ac- 
count of  the  extreme  modesty  of  the  lecturer  of 
the  evening  he  had  cut  out  the  flower  of  his 
remarks,  but  wound  up  with  a  paraphrase  on 
Kipling's  ode  to  "Our  Bob": 

"Oh,  'e*s  little,  but  'e's  wise; 
'E's  a  terror  for  'is  size, 
*Aint  ye.  Doctor?" 

Thus  far,  for  the  most  part,  we  have  studied 
Dr.  Buckley  in  the  light  of  his  achievements. 
We  have  not  seen  the  whole  man.  We  have 
not  been  able  to  explore  all  the  hidden  wealth 
of  his  character.  There  are  doubtless  in  his 
capacious  structure  reserved  chambers  rich  in 
hidden  treasure,  to  which  neither  we  nor  any 
other  have  ever  been  fully  admitted — certainly 
not  with  the  hghts  turned  on.  It  is  both  a  tru- 
ism and  a  proverbial  classic,  that,  however 
great  the  product,  the  creator  himself  is  greater 
than  his  greatest  creation.  When  in  the  pres- 
ence of  some  crowning  discovery  or  invention 
we  find  ourselves  wrapped  in  the  mood  of  ad- 
miring wonder,  we  have  but  to  turn  from  the 
discovery  or  invention  to  the  man  in  whose 
vision  these  were  born,  to  find  a  still  greater. 


THE  MAN 


263 


and  a  forever  unfathomable,  source  of  wonder 
and  admiration. 

Edison  has  been  styled  the  "'Wizard  of  In- 
vention." The  products  of  his  genius  are  be- 
wilderingly  numerous.  He  has  turned  the 
night  darkness  of  the  city  street  into  brilliant 
noonday.  He  entertains  our  parlor  guests  not 
only  with  the  oratory,  story,  and  song  of  living 
geniuses,  but  we  are  permitted  to  hear  the  iden- 
tical voices  of  loved  ones  whose  lips  are  now 
forever  closed.  But  the  hving  genius  of  Edi- 
son, like  an  inquisitor  haunting  nature's  secret 
places,  inexhaustible  in  its  inventiveness, 
stands  in  the  presence  of  his  creations  some- 
thing immeasurably  superior  to  them  all.  If  it 
be  true  that  the  artist,  for  his  supreme  crea- 
tions, mingles  his  own  blood  with  his  pigments, 
it  is  still  true  that  when  his  masterpiece  is  fin- 
ished his  vital  fountains  remain  inexhaustible. 

The  hidden  power  of  a  great  life  is  evidenced 
in  the  fact  that  no  single  generation  ever  be- 
comes the  possessor  of  it  all.  In  the  life  of  the 
Church,  a  few  great  lives  can  be  cited  which 
have  given  the  forms  of  credal  beliefs  largely 
not  only  for  their  own,  but  for  subsequent  ages. 
Such  characters  are  Augustine,  Luther,  Wes- 
ley. These  have  been  great  makers  of  history. 
Their  influence  lingers  as  a  witching  stimulus 


264  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


in  the  thought  of  the  Church.  They  never  die. 
With  each  succeeding  generation  new  studies 
are  given  to  their  careers,  fresh  appraisals  of 
their  influence  are  attempted,  and  their  hves 
are  newly  written;  but  still  large  sections  of 
their  psychic  wealth  and  power  ever  remain  to 
be  explored.  How  many  lives  of  Napoleon 
have  been  written !  But  still,  the  deeper  secrets 
of  his  genius  remain  covered.  The  resultant 
of  his  influence  upon  world-history  has  not 
been  fully  ascertained.  He  will  remain  an  ob- 
ject of  fascinating  interest  to  future  historians. 
Robert  Burns,  sprung  from  most  common  soil, 
with  no  visible  parentage  for  his  genius,  poet 
of  humanity,  prophet  of  democracy — who  has 
exhausted  the  alluring  secret  of  his  power? 
The  charm  of  his  story  will  remain  fresh  and 
fruitful  as  long  as  in  our  human  world  there  is 
aspiring  struggle  for  freedom,  and  so  long  as 
perfect  song  shall  entrance  the  soul  of  man. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  greatest  study  of  man- 
kind is  Man,  it  still  remains  that  we  gain  our 
most  impressive  and  helpful  view  of  the  higher 
potentialities  of  mankind  in  general  through 
our  observation  of  the  exceptional  individual. 
He  is  the  translator  and  interpreter  to  the 
world  at  large  of  the  human  possibilities.  The 
susceptibihty  to  music  is  universal  in  the  hu- 


THE  MAN 


265 


man  breast,  inborn.  But  it  takes  the  single 
genius  of  a  Beethoven  or  a  Handel  to  give  in- 
spiration, voice,  harmony,  the  sea-swell  of  re- 
sistless melody,  to  this  latent  potency  in  the 
multitudes.  In  the  popular  mind  of  Attica 
there  was  not  wanting  a  deeply  implanted  and 
widely  distributed  motive  of  patriotism.  But 
to  evoke  this  patriotism,  to  fuse  it  in  the  fires  of 
irresistible  unity,  to  give  it  definite  and  effec- 
tive direction,  required  the  impelling  voice  of 
a  Demosthenes.  In  the  crises  of  the  world  the 
great  man  incarnates  himself  in  the  multitude, 
he  becomes  a  new  soul  in  the  life  of  the  masses. 
He  inspires  among  them  a  conmion  impulse  of 
migration  toward  higher  levels  and  to  more 
heroic  achievements,  ideals  which  hitherto  have 
lived  only  in  his  own  best  moods. 

The  biographies  of  such  men  can  never  be 
ideally  written.  In  the  sum  of  their  individu- 
ality there  is  much  more  hidden  than  is  re- 
vealed. In  saying  this  we  need  make  no  spe- 
cial appeal  to  the  subliminal  treasures,  which 
it  may  be  assumed,  are  held  in  reserve  in  the 
psychology  of  such  characters.  The  forces 
within  these  men,  always  subject  to  instant 
summons  to  the  active  field  of  consciousness, 
are  so  numerous  that  no  outside  observer,  prob- 
ably not  even  the  subjects  themselves,  would 


266  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


ever  be  able  to  make  just  appraisement  of  them 
all.  The  psychology  of  a  great  soul  is  a 
wonderful  study.  It  must  be  the  study  of  a 
battlefield  on  which  betimes  are  waged  the 
fiercest  conflicts  of  which  consciousness  can 
take  note.  Saint  Paul  has  given  us  a  vivid 
lantern  slide  of  the  moral  conflict  within  him 
which  made  his  own  soul  a  very  arena  of  des- 
tiny. No  genius  ever  argues  himself  through 
to  final  decisions,  ever  finally  shapes  his  dia- 
gram of  action,  without  fii^st  encountering 
within  his  own  breast  the  challenge  of  opposi- 
tion, the  caution  of  an  opposing  philosophy. 

The  foregoing  is  no  digression.  It  is  all 
suggested  by  reflection  upon  the  many-sided- 
ness of  the  man  whose  varied  activities  have 
engaged  the  pages  of  this  narrative.  I  confess 
to  an  increasing  impression  that  in  all  thus  far 
written  we  have  been  dealing  more  with  the 
put-forth  action,  and  the  outspoken  word,  of 
an  official  career,  rather  than  reaching  success 
in  revealing  the  richer  wealth,  however  inacces- 
sible to  us,  hidden  in  the  inner  Ufe  of  our  sub- 
ject. The  official  expression,  from  first  to  last, 
has  doubtless  been  true  to  the  accepted  stand- 
ards of  its  obligation.  But  behind  the  tangible 
and  fruitful  output  of  Dr.  Buckley's  mind  and 
heart  there  must  be  a  spacious  hinter-land  rich 


THE  MAN 


267 


in  the  play  of  imrevealed  thought,  feeling, 
motive,  mental  conflict,  inspiration,  imagina- 
tion, introspection.  Of  course  there  would  be 
very  much  in  this  inner  soul-life  which  should 
remain  the  sacred  and  uninvaded  possession  of 
him  in  whose  consciousness  alone  it  should  come 
to  expression.  But,  aside  from  all  this,  what  a 
pageant  of  intellectual  and  psychic  wonder 
would  pass  before  us,  if  in  a  clear  light  and 
with  revealing  insight  we  were  permitted  to 
traverse  this  hidden  world! 

Of  the  man,  however,  as  we  have  known 
him,  there  remains  much  to  be  said  quite  in  dis- 
tinction from  the  phenomenal  wealth  of  his 
achievements,  which  themselves  lay  so  great 
claim  upon  both  our  attention  and  admiration. 
In  seeking  near  approach  to  his  essential  char- 
acter, many  qualities  challenge  our  attention. 
If  impartial  frankness  is  to  guide  our  estimate, 
it  must  be  admitted  that  a  pronounced  impres- 
sion which  Dr.  Buckley  has  made  upon  many 
minds,  more  pronounced  doubtless  in  his  earlier 
than  in  his  later  years,  is  that  of  personal  ego- 
tism. An  acute  observer,  a  long-time  friend 
and  admirer,  says:  "The  first  impression  re- 
ceived by  many  of  him  in  his  earher  life  was 
that  of  a  young  man  of  marked  ability,  smart 
and  quick,  who  thought  of  himself  more  highly 


268  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


than  he  ought  to  think,  or,  to  put  it  roughly, 
self-conceited.  This  notion  of  him,  which  was 
apparent  in  all  directions,  continued,  though 
with  diminishing  force,  till  a  few  years  ago." 

Another,  with  perhaps  equal  and  as  inter- 
ested opportunity  of  observation,  says:  "I 
know  there  has  been  an  impression  accepted 
by  many  that  Dr.  Buckley's  stock  of  egotism 
was  so  large  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  him 
to  have  a  correct  knowledge  of  himself,  or  to 
understand  his  limitations.  It  cannot  be  de- 
nied that,  in  common  with  most  great  men,  he 
had  some  vanity  which  might  be  reckoned  an 
infirmity.  But  his  egotism  was  not  of  a  kind 
that  makes  a  fool  of  a  man.  He  once  had  a 
conversation  with  a  strong-minded  woman, 
who,  when  her  resources  seemed  to  be  ex- 
hausted, said,  *Dr.  Buckley,  my  chief  objec- 
tion to  you  is  your  colossal  egotism.'  This 
fierce  attack  would  have  put  a  stop  to  the  con- 
versation and  the  argument  with  most  men; 
but  it  was  not  so  in  this  case.  Holding  his 
peace  until  he  had  time  to  cool,  and  until  she 
had  time  to  cool  at  least  a  little,  he  answered 
with  the  utmost  politeness  and  amiability: 
*Madam,  you  may  be  mistaken.  I  have  not 
so  much  egotism  as  you  imagine.  When  I 
know  that  I  know  a  thing  better  than  anyone 


THE  MAN 


269 


else,  why  should  I  not  sincerely  confess  it?  Is 
there  any  virtue  in  pretending  ignorance  when 
you  know  that  you  have  knowledge?  What 
you  so  severely  condemn  is  not  egotism,  but 
consciousness  of  strength,  which  is  a  virtue.'  " 
Whatever  may  be  our  estimate,  pro  or  con,  as 
to  the  volume  or  quality  of  inherent  egotism  be- 
longing to  him,  there  could  have  been  nothing 
vapid  or  empty  about  it  all.  He  was  never 
foolish,  never  inane,  in  his  utterances.  He 
well-nigh  invariably  spoke  the  things  which 
people  were  interested  to  hear.  He  spoke  them 
in  a  clear,  forceful,  informing  manner.  He  al- 
ways spoke  from  a  seemingly  exhaustless  fund 
of  knowledge.  His  judgment,  if  it  did  not  al- 
ways command  assent,  never  failed  to  com- 
mand respect. 

He  was  a  great  conversationalist.  He  might 
be  classed  with  those  elect  persons  who  have 
gained  celebrity  as  social  entertainers.  There 
is  now  and  then  a  man  sui  generis  for  power  as 
a  brilliant  converser  at  the  table.  Colonel 
Harvey,  in  one  of  his  editorials,  presents  a  racy 
picture  of  a  series  of  luncheon  parties  given  at 
the  White  House  during  one  winter  in  the 
second  administration  of  Mr.  Roosevelt, 
"which  for  occasions  of  sprightly  conversation 
have  hardly  been  excelled.  Invariably  the  day 


270  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


was  Saturday,  when  the  work  of  the  week  had 
ended,  and  the  party — well,  the  party  was  not 
always  the  same,  but  usually  Secretary  Root 
was  there  and  Secretary  Taft  and  Speaker 
Cannon  and  Senator  Proctor  (the  drollest  and 
driest  of  all)  and  Mr.  Francis  Sargeant,  and 
occasionally  Senators  Aldrich  and  Beveridge, 
Mr.  Watterson,  Major  Hemphill,  or  others 
who  happened  to  be  in  town  and  always  Mark 
Twain  and  Mr.  Wayne  MacVeagh.  The  un- 
varying question,  so  Mr.  Root  was  accustomed 
to  remark,  was,  which  will  get  started  first  to- 
day— Clemens  or  MacVeagh  ?  And  so,  indeed, 
it  was.  Either  was  good  for  a  monologue  of 
two  hours  at  least  and  neither  would  brook  an 
instant's  interruption,  even  if  anybody  had 
been  disposed — as  nobody  ever  was — to  check 
the  flow  of  humor  from  the  one  or  of  wit  from 
the  other."  Dr.  Buckley  could  be  very  prop- 
erly rated  with  the  Twain-Mac Veagh  class  of 
table  conversers. 

If  in  the  social  circle,  it  was  his  tendency, 
even  his  habit,  to  monopoHze  the  conversation, 
this  also  could  be  justified  largely  on  the 
ground  that  as  ascribed  to  Dr.  Johnson,  "The 
influence  exercised  by  his  conversation  .  .  . 
was  altogether  without  a  parallel." 

A  bright  young  man  in  the  Reformed  min- 


THE  MAN 


271 


istry,  observing  him,  said,  "I  can  easily  tolerate 
a  man  who  takes  a  large  view  of  himself  when 
he  is  really  a  large  man."  There  is  all  the  dif- 
ference in  the  world  between  the  egotism  of  a 
fop,  or  an  empty-headed  pedant,  and  the  con- 
scious power  of  a  great  resourceful  mind. 
There  is  much  to  show  that  Dr.  Buckley  had  a 
very  measured  and  sane  understanding  of  him- 
self. Some  things  that  are  now  history  can  be 
stated  without  impropriety.  There  was  a  time 
when  large  numbers  of  delegates  in  the  Gen- 
eral Conference,  moved  largely  by  two,  and 
quite  distinct  motives,  would  have  been  glad 
to  elect  him  to  the  episcopacy.  Many  of  these 
delegates,  especially  from  the  West,  were  not 
in  agreement  with  his  policies  on  the  question 
of  the  admission  of  women  to  the  General  Con- 
ference, and  on  other  questions.  They  thought 
that  by  removing  him  from  his  position  in  the 
Advocate  they  would  be  rid  of  a  powerful  an- 
tagonist. There  were  many  others  who  be- 
lieved, and  among  these  were  included  also 
large  numbers  of  the  former  class,  that  the 
bringing  of  his  exceptional  powers  and  gifts 
to  the  episcopacy  would  both  greatly  ornament 
and  strengthen  that  high  office.  It  is  sufficient 
to  say  that  the  proposition  to  elect  him  to  the 
episcopacy  never  by  word  or  sign  received  the 


272  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


slightest  encouragement  or  sanction  from  him- 
self. There  can  be  little  doubt  that  if  he  had 
signified  his  willingness  or  desire  to  be  made  a 
bishop,  he  could  have  been  overwhelmingly 
elected  to  the  office. 

There  were  those  near  him  who  thought  that 
he  would  do  well  to  state  his  position  before- 
hand. This  he  declined  to  do,  not  thinking  it 
modest  that  he  should  announce  himself,  pro  or 
con,  on  such  a  matter  until  the  General  Con- 
ference should  have  at  least  given  some  expres- 
sion in  the  case.  With  the  general  feeling 
abroad  that  he  himself  was  averse  to  being 
made  a  bishop,  he  was,  of  course,  not  elected. 
But  his  real  and  determined  attitude  to  the 
question,  as  then  revealed  in  confidence  to  some 
of  his  near  friends,  may  now  very  fittingly 
belong  to  the  entire  Church.  He  said  of  him- 
self :  "I  cannot  say  that  I  believe  I  am  called  of 
God  to  the  office  of  a  bishop  in  the  Church  of 
God.  On  the  contrary,  I  am  sure  I  am  not 
called.  If  I  were,  there  would  be  some  indica- 
tion of  it  in  my  prayers.  When  I  draw  near  to 
God  in  prayer,  he  does  not  give  me  the  slight- 
est intimation  that  he  wants  me  in  that  office. 
There  is  not  the  slightest  drawing  of  my  mind 
and  heart  in  that  direction.  Another  reason  is 
this:  I  know  my  limitations.   While  I  am  in 


THE  MAN 


273 


the  Advocate  I  can  travel  abroad  without  com- 
pulsion or  direction.  I  can  avoid  rigorous  cli- 
mates which  would  soon  break  me  down.  If  I 
should  accept  the  office  of  bishop,  I  cannot 
choose.  I  cannot  shirk.  I  am  certain  that  in 
that  case  I  should  not  live  two  years.  I  should 
break  down  as  E.  O.  Haven  did,  and  as  Ed- 
ward Thomson  did,  and  be  swept  away  by  the 
storms.  I  do  not  believe  I  am  called  to  make 
this  sacrifice  while  there  are  other  men,  vigor- 
ous in  body,  who  can  do  this  work  as  well  as  I 
could,  and  possibly  better." 

If  we  would  really  know  the  intrinsic  qual- 
ity of  a  man,  we  must  test  him  by  the  altitude 
and  plane  of  his  loyalties.  The  man  of  flaw- 
less moral  integrity,  the  sun-crowned  man,  is 
never  the  creature  of  mere  expediency.  In  the 
presence  of  life's  supreme  obligations  he  never 
dodges  in  and  out  as  one  guided  by  the  fickle 
phenomena  of  shifting  temporal  interests. 
Rather  as  a  mariner  pursuing  his  steady  pur- 
pose in  a  career  of  duty  and  of  destiny,  how- 
ever storm-swept  the  skies,  or  fog-covered  the 
seas,  he  always  knows  the  bearing  of  his  fixed 
polar  star.  Perhaps  for  the  moral  measure- 
ment of  Dr.  Buckley  there  is  no  surer  gauge 
than  the  word  "loyalty."  The  noblest  and 
loftiest  loyalty  can  grow  and  flourish  only  in 


274  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


a  soil  of  righteousness.  In  the  supreme  rela- 
tions of  life  the  loyalty  of  that  man  who  at  core 
is  not  God-knowing  and  God-fearing  may  be 
distrusted.  James  M.  Buckley  was  eminently 
a  godly  man.  He  did  not  always  perhaps 
make  this  impression  in  his  casual  associations 
with  men.  He  was  absolutely  free  from  cant. 
He  had  an  abhorrence  of  anything  hke  a  gra- 
tuitous display  of  pious  pretension.  He  never 
used  his  religious  profession  as  a  business  card. 
He  never  placarded  his  headquarters  as  a  place 
where  business  was  transacted  on  the  basis  of 
the  "Golden  Rule."  But  the  citadel  of  his  own 
heart  was  always  guarded  by  a  loyalty  to  God 
which  was  rock-firm  and  as  clear  as  the  sun- 
light. The  testimony  of  one  who  knew  him 
long  and  well,  is :  "I  believe  that  at  any  time  he 
would  have  been  willing  to  lay  down  his  life 
rather  than  depart  from  the  way  in  which  he 
believed  God  would  have  him  walk.  This  was 
his  anchor." 

He  had  definite,  and  usually  very  enlight- 
ened, views  of  the  Bible.  It  does  not  matter 
for  present  purposes,  whether  these  views  were 
or  were  not  in  harmony  with  most  that  would 
be  advanced  by  the  present-day  school  of  evan- 
gelical and  constructive  biblical  criticism.  He 
believed  that,  in  a  sense  sufficient  to  guide  man 


THE  MAN 


275 


infallibly  along  a  divine  highway  of  spiritual 
and  moral  attainment  to  a  holy  immortality, 
the  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God.  And  his 
loyalty  to  his  belief  was  as  firm  as  that  of  a 
martyr. 

He  loved  his  Church.  He  believed  in  her 
doctrines  and  usages.  He  knew,  as  perhaps  no 
other  man  of  his  day,  the  history,  the  teachings, 
and  the  personnel  of  this  Church,  and  to  it  he 
gave  his  lifelong  labors  and  support.  He  early 
became  convinced  that  it  was  his  duty  to  give 
himself  to  the  Christian  ministry.  This  could 
never  mean  for  him,  in  any  financial  sense,  a 
life  of  lucrative  income.  It  meant  that  he  must 
give  his  powers,  however  brilliant,  to  a  service 
calling  for  only  modest  material  compensa- 
tions, that  he  must  be  a  lifelong  minister  to  the 
poor,  the  sick,  and,  in  many  cases,  the  unpriv- 
ileged. It  meant  that  he,  with  his  family,  must 
be  subject  to  the  vicissitudes,  the  ups  and 
downs,  of  a  life  in  the  itinerancy.  We  have 
already  seen  how  as  a  very  young  man  there 
was  proffered  him  a  lucrative  place  and  with 
every  promise  of  eminence  and  fortune,  if  he 
would  step  aside  from  the  ministry  and  enter 
the  legal  profession.  But,  no!  He  had  heard 
God's  voice  within  him  calling  him  to  this  work, 
and  to  that  work  he  would  be  loyal  to  life's 


276  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


end.  What  an  example  is  here  for  many  a 
young  man  of  finest  moral  capacity  who,  as 
away  from  the  summons  of  the  spiritual,  feels 
put  upon  him  the  tremendous  lure  of  this  mer- 
cantile, money-loving,  and  materialistic  age! 

It  has  been  emphasized  by  those  who  had 
best  opportunities  for  knowing  that  Dr.  Buck- 
ley's love  for  his  mother  was  both  intense  and 
tender  in  a  degree  that  made  it  distinctly  beau- 
tiful. His  mother  was  an  exceptionally  admir- 
able character.  Of  her  her  son  had  just  reason 
to  be  proud.  It  is  due  also,  perhaps  more  than 
incidentally,  to  note  that  a  large  factor  in  this 
mother's  happiness  throughout  all  her  later 
years,  was  in  the  satisfactions  she  experienced 
in  connection  with  the  character  and  success 
of  her  illustrious  son.  He  could  never  be  for- 
getful of  his  great  personal  indebtedness  to  her. 
Throughout  her  lifetime  there  was  no  gift  of 
heart  or  of  treasure  too  precious  for  him  to  lay 
at  her  feet. 

In  the  fullest  sense  of  the  term  he  probably 
had  but  few  intimate  friends.  Some  of  these 
are  still  living.  Their  testimony  to  his  partner- 
ship in  a  full-hearted,  absolutely  loyal,  and  un- 
broken life-friendship  is  very  beautiful. 

He  was  guided  by  a  high  sense  of  honor  in 
his  relations  to  his  associates  in  official  work. 


THE  MAN 


277 


One  of  his  long-time  fellow  workers  writes  of 
the  circumstances  under  which  he  was  invited 
to  the  position  of  the  assistant  editorship.  Dr. 
Buckley  said  to  him:  "I  have  given  this  matter 
careful  consideration.  ...  I  want  you  to 
come  to  my  office  not  as  my  assistant,  but  as 
the  assistant  editor  of  the  Advocate.  There  is 
a  distinction,  and  it  is  my  desire  to  have  it  ob- 
served. You  will  come  not  as  an  underling, 
but  with  all  the  rights  and  responsibilities  of 
your  office.  You  will  not  be  my  assistant,  but 
my  brother,  and  we  will  work  together  as 
brothers  on  a  common  task,  to  which  we  will 
make  our  common  contributions." 

The  same  writer  further  says:  "He  was 
eminently  fair — or  sought  always  to  be  so.  He 
had  not  the  slightest  sympathy  or  patience  with 
shams — and  was  keen  to  try  a  lance  with  every 
windmill  of  hypocrisy,  pretense,  bombast,  and 
mountebankery  that  appeared  on  the  horizon. 
It  was  his  own  innate  sense  of  honor  that  was 
finding  expression,  and  that  compelled  him  to 
become  a  champion  of  personal  righteousness, 
even  though  his  championship  sometimes 
brought  much  condemnation  and  criticism 
upon  his  own  head.  .  .  .  In  the  editorial  con- 
duct of  the  paper  the  same  high  regard  for 
the  fundamentals  of  manhood  appeared  con- 


278  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


stantly.  If,  inadvertently,  a  statement  were 
printed  that  was  wide  of  the  truth — even  in 
small  details — he  was  more  than  willing  to 
make  suitable  correction.  And  if  the  character 
and  reputation  of  an  individual  or  of  an  organ- 
ization were  involved,  he  was  sure  to  make  more 
than  ample  restitution." 

As  to  his  real  motives  of  equity  and  of  fair- 
dealing,  nothing  could  be  more  satisfactory 
than  this  kind  of  testimony — coming  as  it  does 
from  out  of  the  long  experiences  of  a  sensitive, 
exacting,  and  laborious  partnership  with  one's 
chief  in  the  common  endeavor  to  discharge 
great  and  difficult  responsibilities. 

In  preceding  pages  much  incidental  refer- 
ence has  been  made  to  Dr.  Buckley's  wealth  of 
knowledge.  Knowledge,  various  and  full,  was 
such  an  element  in  his  personal  power  as  hardly 
to  admit  of  overstatement.  One  who  knew  his 
habits  and  capacity  says:  "His  ability  to  read 
with  surprising  rapidity  made  it  possible  for 
him  to  read  ten  times  as  many  books  in  a  year 
as  the  ordinary  reader,  and  his  fine  memory 
enabled  him  to  gather  up  and  store  away  all  the 
books  contained.  He  was  a  wide  reader  of  the 
best  books.  He  knew  history,  especially  the 
history  of  our  own  country  and  of  our  own 
Church,  as  few  men  did.    He  had  read  the 


THE  MAN 


279 


biographies  of  nearly  all  great  men,  ana  had 
read  with  care  the  stories  of  all  the  prominent 
men  of  the  Methodist  Church.  He  was  fa- 
miliar with  the  best  English  literature,  and  had 
made  a  special  study  of  Shakespeare  and  of 
most  of  the  great  poets.  Having  this  rich  store 
of  literature  always  at  command  made  him  a 
power  in  debate  and  extemporaneous  address. 
I  never  imagined  that  he  was  qualified  to  take 
charge  of  a  department  of  science  in  any  of  our 
best  colleges;  but  he  had  made  himself  ac- 
quainted with  the  principal  branches  to  a  suffi- 
cient degree  to  enable  him  to  speak  without 
embarrassment  either  in  conversation  or  public 
discussion  on  topics  requiring  a  knowledge  of 
these  things.  .  .  .  The  wonder  to  me  always 
was  how  he  could  command  time  to  pick  up  so 
much  knowledge  about  everything." 

He  had  a  deep  insight  into  character.  His 
knowledge  of  men  was  large.  This  was  partly 
instinctive,  partly  acquired.  He  studied  men, 
and  easily  read  them.  We  have  emphasized  his 
general  fair-mindedness.  He  was  habitually 
swayed  by  a  large  sense  of  justice.  But  to  as- 
sume that  he  invariably  took  the  true  and  best 
view  of  individuals  would  be  an  overassump- 
tion.  This  would  be  to  give  him  credit  for  a 
perfect  insight,  and  to  an  unerring  judgment, 


280  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


of  character.  There  are  cases  in  the  memory 
and  judgment  of  Hving  men  where  Dr.  Buck- 
ley's personal  equation  was  so  charged  with 
certain  atmospheres  as  to  make  apparently  im- 
possible to  him  the  placing  of  some  individuals 
in  the  best  light — the  light  to  which  many 
thought  them  justly  entitled.  All  this  is  per- 
haps only  to  say  that  he  was  human,  intensely 
so.  He  did  by  no  means  altogether  escape  the 
touch  of  "our  mortal  nature's  strife." 

In  further  illustration  of  Dr.  Buckley's  re- 
markable memory,  I  present  here  two  inter- 
esting tests  of  this  faculty.  When  he  went  to 
Europe  in  1888  I  was  residing  in  Stamford, 
one  of  his  former  pastoral  fields.  He  prom- 
ised that  on  his  return  he  would  spend  the  first 
night  of  his  next  visit  in  Stamford  as  guest  in 
my  home.  On  the  evening  in  question  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Henry  A.  Hubbard,  warm  mutual 
friends,  invited  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oliver  Hoyt, 
Mrs.  Mains,  and  myself  to  meet  Dr.  Buckley 
at  their  home  for  dinner.  It  transpired  that  on 
that  day  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoyt  had  become 
grandparents  by  the  birth  of  a  child  in  the 
home  of  their  eldest  son.  No  sooner  was  the 
fact  announced  than  Dr.  Buckley  forthwith,  in 
felicitation  of  Mrs.  Hoyt,  proceeded  to  tell, 
and  without  the  slightest  hesitation,  seven  dis- 


THE  MAN 


281 


tinct  stories  on  grandmothers.  This  may  seem 
casual.  But  how  many  are  there  who,  without 
special  premeditation,  could  tell  in  quick  suc- 
cession seven  grandmother  stories  ? 

His  long-time  friend  Dr.  James  Buckley 
Faulks  relates  the  following.  In  one  of  their 
summer  pedestrian  tours,  with  two  young  men, 
Messrs.  Burr  and  Hoyt,  as  traveling  compan- 
ions, they  had  witnessed  at  Raleigh,  North 
Carolina,  a  great  eclipse  of  the  sun.  Dr. 
Faulks  had  been  engaged  to  write  up  his  im- 
pressions of  this  eclipse  for  the  Jersey  City 
Journal,  and  for  the  time  being  was  not  in  a 
mood  to  be  diverted  by  any  sort  of  story-tell- 
ing, however  interesting  in  itself.  "But,"  he 
says,  "Dr.  Buckley  put  me  to  the  test  by  pro- 
posing to  tell  me  twenty-five  distinct  stories 
which  I  had  never  heard  him  or  anybody  else 
tell,  and  if  he  failed,  he  would  pay  the  entire 
expense  of  the  party  back  to  New  York. 
Young  Hoyt  and  Burr  so  enthusiastically 
urged  the  acceptance  of  the  proposition  that 
I  finally  yielded." 

What  followed.  Dr.  Faulks  thus  describes: 
"Buckley  proceeded  with  great  caution  and 
gave  forth  a  few  stories  which  met  the  require- 
ments, and  then  would  go  away  to  conjure  up 
some  more  and  after  a  while  would  return  to 


282  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


narrate  them.  I  would  see  him  sitting  under  a 
tree  with  a  httle  memorandum  book  and  pencil 
pondering  and  pondering  and  then  making  a 
note  or  two.  By  and  by  he  would  return  with 
another  installment.  This  process  went  on 
through  the  day  and  into  the  night,  and  it  was 
not  until  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  that 
the  final  story  was  told  as  we  were  riding  away 
from  Raleigh.  He  told  me  afterward  that  it 
was  the  severest  mental  exercise  he  had  ever 
undergone." 

This  quahty  of  memory  must  stand  as  one 
explanation  of  what  seemed  his  inexhaustible 
fullness.  However  free  or  prolonged  his  con- 
versation, he  never  seemed  to  reach  the  end  of 
his  knowledge  on  any  subject. 

An  intimate  observer,  speaking  of  some 
quaUties  which  greatly  impressed  him,  says: 
"He  possessed  great  self-control,  perhaps  it 
would  be  better  to  say  mental  composure,  in 
the  presence  of  the  multitude.  Few  men  can 
face  an  audience  knowing  that  they  are  looking 
to  him  for  something  important,  and  not  be- 
come sHghtly  nervous.  Often  one's  powers  of 
memory  and  utterance  are  more  or  less  para- 
lyzed at  first  by  the  presence  of  a  multitude. 
Dr.  Buckley  was  always,  so  far  as  I  know, 
entirely  composed  and  had  full  command  of  all 


THE  MAN 


283 


his  resources  in  the  presence  of  a  multitude.  I 
think  he  could  command  his  material  even 
better  when  speaking  to  a  large  mass  than  when 
talking  with  one  or  two  people.  His  conmiand 
of  language  was  marvelous.  He  could  not 
only  find  the  words  he  wanted,  but  could  put 
them  in  the  best  shape  and  use  them  correctly 
without  stumbhng  or  blundering  while  speak- 
ing in  public.  This  was  not  only  a  natural,  but 
largely  an  acquired  gift.  It  had  been  a  large 
study  with  him  to  learn  to  use  language  cor- 
rectly. He  told  me  that  in  early  life  he 
adopted  the  plan  of  using  only  the  best  lan- 
guage at  his  command  in  ordinary  conversa- 
tion. He  never  allowed  himself  to  construct  an 
awkward  sentence  or  utter  a  slovenly  speech 
in  conversation  with  one  or  two  people.  I 
watched  him  after  he  told  me  this,  and  observed 
that  in  ordinary  conversation  on  unimportant 
subjects,  he  spoke  as  carefully  and  accurately 
as  he  did  before  an  audience  of  two  thousand. 
This  discipline  extending  through  many  years 
made  him  one  of  the  most  accurate  men  in  the 
use  of  language  I  have  ever  known." 

The  same  writer  says :  "If  I  were  asked  what 
is  the  outstanding  feature  of  Dr.  Buckley's 
mind,  I  think  I  should  say,  alertness.  I  am  not 
sure  you  could  find  that  word  in  the  dictionary. 


284  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


but  you  know  what  it  means.  He  was  the  most 
alert  man  I  ever  knew.  His  mind  was  always 
full.  He  was  always  ready  for  speech.  He 
did  not  need  to  wait  for  inspiration.  .  .  . 
He  also  had  a  degree  of  magnetism  in  public 
address.  When  fully  possessed  of  his  subject 
and  in  sympathy  with  the  occasion,  his  eye 
flashed  and  his  countenance  took  on  a  peculiar 
luster,  and  his  voice  responding  to  his  mental 
operations  got  a  new  ring  which  made  the 
people  feel  that  a  master  of  assembhes  had 
them  in  his  grip." 

As  referring  to  this  exceptional  oratorical 
power,  exceptional  indeed  to  the  speaker  him- 
^,  self,  I  recall  a  remarkable  occasion,  shared  also 
by  other  of  his  personal  friends,  in  which  this 
power,  and  on  a  brilliant  stage,  received  most 
superb  illustration.  The  Nineteenth  Century 
Club  of  New  York  had  arranged  for  a  debate 
concerning  Christian  Science.  The  elegant 
assembly  hall  at  Sherry's  was  the  place  selected 
for  the  meeting.  Some  eminent  speaker  was  to 
represent  the  affirmative,  and  Dr.  Buckley  the 
negative,  side  of  the  question.  The  advocates 
of  Christian  Science  for  some  reason  found  it 
impossible  to  secure  a  champion  whose  courage 
proved  equal  to  the  demands  of  the  occasion, 
no  less  than  three  different  persons  promising, 


THE  MAN 


285 


and  finally  each  excusing  himself  from  appear- 
ing. When  the  evening  arrived  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  assemblies  possible  to  New  York  city 
crowded  the  hall.  But  as  no  speaker  was  pres- 
ent to  represent  the  afiirmative  side  of  the  ques- 
tion. Dr.  Buckley  felt  that  it  would  not  be  right 
for  him  to  take  the  time,  unless  he  were  first 
permitted  in  some  capacity,  perhaps  as  that  of 
an  attorney,  to  speak  in  behalf  of  Christian 
Science.  This  proposition  was  agreed  to.  So 
the  entire  occasion,  divided  into  two  periods, 
was  occupied  by  the  one  speaker,  he  in  the  first 
period  fairly  stating  the  arguments  for  belief 
in  Christian  Science. 

In  the  closing  period  he  stood  on  his  own 
ground  as  an  opposer  of  the  cult.  Those  who 
knew  him  best  felt  that  he  was  never  more 
superlatively  himself  than  in  that  hour.  The 
scene  itself  was  inspirational.  His  bodily  con- 
dition was  good.  The  play  of  his  nrind  was 
perfect.  He  had  absolute  command  of  his  sub- 
ject. His  voice  was  the  perfect  instrument  of 
both  his  thought  and  emotion.  In  the  first 
hour  he  had  presented  the  grounds  of  Christian 
Science  with  an  ability  than  which  nothing 
better  could  be  asked  by  the  most  enthusiastic 
devotees  of  the  cause.  Then,  after  a  brief  re- 
cess, he  took  the  other  side,  and,  most  resist- 


286  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


lessly,  remorselessly,  stroke  on  stroke,  smote 
the  entire  structure  of  Christian  Science  until 
there  was  nothing  left  of  it  but  the  fine  dust  of 
its  own  absurdity. 

I  am  writing  from  my  own  impressions  of 
the  occasion.  It  was,  I  think,  the  most  signal 
triumph  of  intellect,  of  knowledge,  of  elo- 
quence combined  that  I  have  ever  witnessed  on 
any  single  occasion.  He  compelled  the  ap- 
plause even  of  those  whose  beliefs  he  was  so 
ruthlessly  demolishing.  As  a  triumph  of 
oratory  it  was  a  scene  intrinsically  worthy  of 
rank  with  the  most  illustrious  instances  of  his- 
toric eloquence. 

Dr.  Buckley  was  largely  endowed  with  in- 
born qualities  of  leadership.  A  close  observer, 
speaking  of  this  gift,  says : 

"He  began  to  be  a  leader  very  early  in  life. 
This  was  not,  as  in  some  cases,  because  he 
pushed  himself  to  the  front,  but  because  he 
possessed  those  qualities  which  people  recog- 
nize as  necessary  to  leadership.  One  of  these 
qualities  is  the  voice  of  authority.  He  spake 
as  one  having  authority.  His  first  sentence 
made  the  impression  that  he  was  master  of  the 
question  and  the  situation.  A  man  may  have 
learning  and  knowledge,  but  if  he  speaks  with 
a  hesitating  voice,  he  is  not  wanted  for  a  leader. 


THE  MAN 


287 


Dr.  Buckley  never  hesitated,  never  retracted, 
never  amended.  He  made  the  impression  that 
he  had  no  doubts.  He  set  the  prow  of  his 
ship  toward  the  port  he  intended  to  reach  and 
never  changed.  He  sailed  right  on,  and  every- 
one could  see  that  he  knew  right  where  he 
wanted  to  go  and  that  he  was  going  right  there. 
This  is  the  kind  of  man  the  people  like  to  fol- 
low. They  say  to  themselves:  *He  knows  just 
what  we  want  to  know.  He  is  going  where  we 
want  to  go.   He  is  a  safe  man.' 

"He  was  a  leader  of  the  center  column.  In 
every  ecclesiastical  conclave  as  well  as  in  nearly 
every  army  there  is  a  right  wing,  a  left  wing, 
and  a  center  column.  The  right  wing  may 
represent  the  radicals,  the  left  wing  the  con- 
servatives, and  the  center,  the  conquering  force, 
having  some  conservatism,  some  radicalism, 
and  a  good  deal  of  its  own  thinking.  Some 
men  aspire  to  leadership  of  the  radicals.  There 
seems  something  of  heroism  in  it.  Others  like 
to  lead  the  conservative  wing,  because  they 
have  nothing  to  do  but  hold  back.  Dr.  Buck- 
ley was  not  a  leader  of  either  wing,  but  of  the 
center  column  consisting  of  men  and  women 
who  do  much  of  their  own  thinking  and  follow 
leaders  who  take  the  widest  range." 

One  law  is  emphasized  in  all  of  Dr.  Buck- 


288  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


ley's  life — the  unfailing  law  that  a  full  price 
must  be  paid  for  supreme  attainment.  It  will 
be  easily  said  that  he  was  born  with  unusual 
gifts,  that  he  had  a  brain  of  exceptional  ca- 
pacity, and  that  nature  had  gravitated  him  to 
the  very  front.  Concede  all  the  truth  which 
these  assumptions  contain.  It  still  remains 
inexorably  true  that  he  reached  all  his  wonder- 
ful proficiency  by  dint  of  tremendous  toil.  If 
it  be  true  that  nature  endowed  him  with  ten 
talents,  it  is  also  true  that  he  so  invested  these 
many  talents  in  the  markets  of  enterprise  as 
far  more  than  to  double  them.  He  was  not 
only  an  omnivorous  reader,  most  careful  to 
use  only  correct  speech  in  all  ordinary  con- 
versation, but  he  sought  constantly  to  enrich 
his  vocabulary  and  to  put  himself  in  command 
of  all  the  range  of  synonyms  that  he  might 
employ  instantly  the  word  that  would  best  con- 
vey his  exact  meaning.  If  he  was  never  at  a 
loss  upon  his  feet  for  a  ready  fund  of  pertinent 
fact,  and  for  fitting  language  by  which  to  ex- 
press the  same,  all  this  was  no  accident.  He 
was  always  ready  for  the  reason  that  he  had 
habitually  enriched  himself  from  ubiquitous 
stores  of  knowledge  and  of  thought.  Among 
all  public  characters  of  the  time  the  hand  of 
laborious  discipline  has  nowhere  more  revealed 


THE  MAN 


289 


itself  than  in  the  shaping  and  furnishing  of  this 
man  for  his  phenomenal  career. 

The  voice  of  this  example  to  the  young,  the 
gifted,  the  ambitious,  is:  If  you  would  forge  to 
the  front,  you  must  pay  the  full  price  of  suc- 
cess. The  prizes  at  the  goal  are  not  for  the 
indolent,  nor  for  the  idle  dreamer.  "He  can 
toil  terribly,"  said  Cecil  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh. 
Terrible  toil  is  the  price  relentlessly  exacted 
for  the  highest  prizes  of  human  achievement. 
No  inheritance  of  privilege,  no  patronage  of 
influence  or  of  power,  can  substitute  this.  It 
is  absurd  for  any  young  aspirant  for  success 
to  presume  on  a  less  cost.  "The  gods  sell  all 
things  at  a  fair  price;  but  the  gods  are  never 
cheated." 

The  better  types  of  young  mind  are  keen- 
visioned.  Their  perceptive  edge  has  not  been 
dulled.  They  have  not  as  yet  been  spoiled  by 
the  sordid  worship  of  materialism.  They  are 
hero-worshipers — and  how  fine  a  thing  is  hero- 
worship  in  an  unsullied  young  life !  The  selec- 
tive instincts  of  such  minds  lay  hold  upon  the 
superlative  qualities.  The  man  who  receives 
the  crown  of  their  unhesitating  approbation 
may  well  wear  it  as  a  diadem  royal. 

I  have  reserved  as  the  final  word  for  this 
chapter  the  tribute  of  a  business  man,  one 


290  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


whose  interest  in  and  attachment  to  Dr.  Buck- 
ley have  grown  neither  out  of  ecclesiastical  nor 
public  relations.  In  his  statement  he  gives  the 
impressions  of  Dr.  Buckley  which  he  received 
in  young  life,  in  his  college  and  postgraduate 
years.  Having  read  this  communication  sev- 
eral times  over,  I  have  become  increasingly  im- 
pressed that  it  ranks  among  the  finest  tributes 
of  character.  This  estimate  has  grown  purely 
out  of  that  intimate  social  friendship  which  in 
this  case,  as  sometimes  happens,  has  happily 
arisen  between  an  older  and  a  younger  mind. 
He  says : 

"Dr.  Buckley  is  to  me  a  man  of  wonders.  I 
have  not  known  him  as  the  preacher,  or  editor, 
or  lecturer,  or  parliamentarian,  although  I 
have  heard  him  preach  and  lecture,  have  read 
his  editorials  and  have  known  of  his  skill  in  the 
great  meetings  of  the  Church.  It  is  in  the 
everyday,  between-the-acts  that  have  made  him 
famous,  that  I  have  known  him  best.  As  a 
young  man  on  my  college  vacations  the  long 
walks  with  him  were  events.  He  was  then  a 
combination  of  mental  wizard  and  athlete — 
never  tiring  of  propounding  and  answering  a 
thousand  questions  and  outwalking  a  vigorous 
youngster.  There  was  no  subject  too  trivial  or 
too  weighty  to  be  discussed  and  settled.  He 


THE  MAN 


291 


was  then  aoout  fifty.  His  conversation  was  a 
delight  and  a  despair.  He  beheved  in  the 
Methodist  Church  from  the  bottom  to  the  top, 
but  he  was  never  narrow.  I  knew  that  his 
vehemence  in  denying  representation  to  women 
in  the  General  Conference  was  based  on  a  pro- 
found belief  that  his  advocacy  was  for  the  good 
of  the  Church.  But  he  was  never  bitter  in  his 
talks  about  it,  nor  about  other  things  where  he 
opposed  other  great  leaders.  He  admired  his 
opponents  who  were  equally  honest  in  laboring 
for  their  convictions. 

"There  was  a  vein  oi  humor  in  his  character 
which  touched  with  light  the  serious  philosophy 
of  his  talk.  .  .  .  He  has  always  been  the 
same  to  me,  a  great  genius,  a  great  mind,  and 
a  great  friend.  This  last  I  should  emphasize, 
for  his  friendship  was  the  kind  that  was  both 
generous  and  satisfying.  When  I  went  to  col- 
lege he  warned  me  against  the  sophistries  of  a 
certain  professor  whose  writings  had  placed 
him  as  a  too  liberal  critic  of  most  of  the  things 
that  Dr.  Buckley  considered  as  essentials.  .  .  . 

"His  mastery  of  himself  is  a  history  of  life- 
long endeavor  against  odds.  The  determina- 
tion to  shake  off  disease  in  early  manhood  and 
his  strength  by  reason  of  will,  is  an  instance  of 
rarity.   Most  people  would  give  up  when  the 

I 
I 

I 


292  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


doctor  gave  them  up.  But  he  beheved  in  the 
divine  right  to  live,  and  no  effort  was  too  great 
and  no  disappointment  too  severe.  The  opti- 
mism of  his  character  has  been  illuminating.  I 
think  of  him  as  of  the  sharpshooter  who  is  sat- 
isfied only  with  bull's-eyes,  and  who  shoots 
straight  for  the  very  love  of  excelling. 

"The  delegate  at  the  Conference  who  won- 
dered at  his  facility  in  debate  and  his  sharpness 
in  argument  might  overlook  the  human  side 
of  his  make-up,  or  think  of  him  as  a  mental 
machine  which  could  perform  the  work  of  a 
dozen  minds.  But  he  was  intensely  human,  if 
an  unusual  interest  in  men's  and  women's  lives 
that  touched  his  own  was  any  criterion.  Al- 
though justly  able  to  speak  of  attainments, 
he  was  not  boastful.  When  after  twenty-eight 
years  as  editor  of  the  Advocate  he  was  again 
elected,  I  remember  his  words,  and  know  that 
it  was  to  him  a  deep  satisfaction  to  be  selected 
again,  although  he  then  said  it  was  to  be  the 
last  time,  as  it  proved.  His  life  has  been  one  of 
enormous  achievement.  The  energy  and  abil- 
ity which  might  have  brought  him  wealth  and 
public  favor  have  been  used  as  he  began — al- 
ways for  the  good  of  the  Church.  So  to  me  he  is 
a  man  of  wonders,  one  of  the  very  big  men  of 
his  time,  content  with  little  and  giving  much. 


THE  MAN 


293 


He  will  be  long  remembered.  His  life  story 
will  be  an  inspiration  to  thousands  of  young 
men  who  will  try  to  emulate  him,  and  catch, 
if  may  be,  the  spirit  that  carried  him  through  a 
long  life  of  supreme  usefulness." 

However  alluring  the  pursuit,  I  am  self- 
warned  that  it  is  time  to  lay  down  my  pen. 
The  quadrennium  succeeding  Dr.  Buckley's 
retirement  from  The  Christian  Advocate,  ex- 
cept for  an  extended  trip  abroad — elsewhere 
noted — was  spent  for  the  most  part  in  the  quiet 
of  his  cultured  home — a  home  tastefully  and 
affectionately  presided  over  by  his  only 
daughter — in  Morristown,  New  Jersey.  Dur- 
ing this  quadrennium  he  did  some  occasional 
lecturing  before  the  students  of  the  Drew 
Theological  Seminary.  He  was  frequently 
seen  upon  public  occasions,  often  at  the  New 
York  Preachers'  Meeting,  regularly  attending 
the  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
as  also  discharging  his  duties  as  president  of 
the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Hospital.  He  could  go  nowhere,  how- 
ever, where  he  did  not  receive  marked  expres- 
sion of  the  profound  respect  and  affection  in 
which  he  was  held  by  his  brethren. 

When,  finally,  at  the  session  of  the  New 
.York  East  Conference,  held  in  Stamford,  in 


294  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


1916,  he  decided  to  ask  for  a  retired  relation 
in  the  Conference,  the  spontaneous  feehng  of 
the  body  uttered  itself  in  the  following  resolu- 
tions prepared  and  presented  by  Dr.  David  G. 
Downey : 

"The  request  of  James  M.  Buckley  for  a 
place  in  the  ranks  of  the  honorably  retired 
ministers  of  this  Conference  is  a  fact  of  his- 
toric significance,  not  only  for  the  New 
York  East  Conference,  but  for  world-wide 
Methodism. 

"For  fifty-seven  years,  just  fifty  of  which 
have  been  spent  in  the  New  York  East  Confer- 
ence, this  valiant  and  militant  soldier  of  Jesus 
Christ  has  been  fighting  the  battles  of  Method- 
ism and  of  righteousness.  The  history  of 
Christianity,  and  especially  of  that  form  of 
Christianity  known  as  Methodism,  during  the 
last  half  century  cannot  be  written  without  giv- 
ing him  a  large  place.  As  a  debater  and  con- 
troller of  public  assemblies  he  has  been  without 
a  peer  among  us;  as  a  legislator  he  has  left 
his  impress  upon  our  laws  and  our  institutions ; 
as  author  he  has  given  us  books  of  indubitable 
value;  as  editor  he  has  diffused  general  in- 
formation, defended,  explained,  and  advocated 
Methodist  principles  and  policies,  combated 
evil,  and  advanced  righteousness  with  an  en- 
ergy and  virility  second  to  none;  while  as 
pastor,  preacher,  and  friend  he  has  counseled, 
comforted,  strengthened,  and  stimulated  a 


THE  MAN 


295 


mighty  host  who  are  glad  to  rise  up  and  bless 
him  for  his  helpful  and  healing  ministry. 

"As  Dr.  Buckley  retires  from  the  ranks  of 
the  effective  ministry  and  seeks  the  quiet  and 
rest  which  he  has  abundantly  earned,  and  to 
which  his  four  score  years  entitle  him,  we  desire 
to  assure  him  of  our  esteem,  our  veneration, 
and  our  love.  With  us  he  never  has  had  and 
never  can  have  an  equal.  No  one  can  draw  the 
bow  that  Ulysses  has  laid  aside.  In  the  affec- 
tion and  admiration  of  the  New  York  East 
Conference  one  name  stands  preeminent, 
unique — ^the  name  of  James  Monroe  Buckley." 

No  better  evidence  of  the  large  and  magnetic 
place  which  Dr.  Buckley  holds  in  the  esteem 
and  affection  of  the  Church  at  large  could  be 
furnished  than  was  displayed  on  two  distinct 
occasions  at  Saratoga,  in  May,  1916.  When, 
unannounced,  his  form  was  seen  entering  the 
spacious  dining  room  of  the  United  States 
Hotel,  the  many  scores  of  delegates  present, 
together  with  their  wives,  rose  spontaneously 
to  their  feet  and  gave  him  as  greeting  the  Chau- 
tauqua salute.  In  the  great  assembly  room  of 
the  General  Conference,  on  the  ensuing  morn- 
ing, only  on  a  far  larger  scale,  the  same  greet- 
ing was  repeated,  literally  thousands  rising  to 
their  feet  to  pay  enthusiastic  honor  to  this  one 
man.   This  kind  of  tribute  is  not  paid  to  ordi- 


296  JAMES  MONROE  BUCKLEY 


nary  characters.  The  man  who  thus  commands 
the  homage  of  elect  assembhes  incarnates  in 
himself,  and  in  most  extraordinary  measm^e, 
the  representative  human  qualities.  His  fellow 
men  instinctively  admire  and  love  him  because 
they  see  embodied  in  him,  in  character,  in  at- 
tainments, in  service,  both  the  prophecy  and 
the  reaUzation  of  the  larger  possibilities  and 
mission  of  the  ideal  human  life. 

In  the  presence  of  this  life  we  stand  wonder- 
ing and  amazed.  Its  influence  will  indefinitely 
survive,  proving  an  inspiration  and  a  blessing 
in  all  its  widening  future  way.  Beyond  the 
goal  of  four  score  years,  in  the  golden  sunset  of 
an  eventful  day,  our  man  of  God,  confidently, 
cheerfully,  awaits  the  summons  which  shall  one 
day  call  him  to  the  splendors  of  the  Endless 
Morning. 


INDEX 


Abbott,  A.  V.  R.,  religious 
awakening  wrought  by,  57 

Abnormalities,  Dr.  Buckley's 
views  on,  172 

Acknowledgment  of  author  as 
to  assistance  received  in 
preparation  of  work,  18 

Adventist,  debate  of  Mr.  Buck- 
ley with,  56 

Agnostic,  an,  defined,  234 

Alboni,  Madame,  145 

Aldrich,  Senator,  270 

Alpha  Omega  Society,  debates 
in,  44,  122,  123 

Anarchists,  237 

Assembly  Herald,  quoted,  214 

Audience,  an,  rights  of,  230 

Bacon,  Lord,  cited,  19 

Bagnell,  Dr.  Robert  G.,  re- 
ferred to,  208 

Ballard,  Dr.  A,  E.,  referred  to, 
37 

Baltimore  Sun,  the,  quoted, 
129 

Bancroft,  George,  referred  to, 
58 

Bangs,  Nathan,  cited,  100 
Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  saying 

of,  122;  referred  to,  145; 

resolution  concerning,  147; 

quoted,  231 
Beethoven,  265 
Beveridge,  Senator,  270 
BilHngs,  Josh,  quoted,  251 


Blake,  Dr.  Edgar,  speech,  of 

referred  to,  115 
Bond,  Thomas,  cited,  100 
Boole,  William  H.,  125 
Borglum,  Gutzon,  bust  of  Dr. 

Buckley,  made  by,  207 
Bovard,  Dr.  Freeman  D.,  re- 
ferred to,  114 
Bowen,  Henry  0.,  cited,  117 
Boyhood  of  Dr.  Buckley,  inci- 
dents in,  30-53 
Brain,  the  human,  253 
Bright,  John,  referred  to,  146 
Brougham,  Lord,  referred  to, 
146 

Browning,  Robert,  cited,  19 
Buckley,  Dr.  James  Monroe, 
unique  place  of,  11;  early 
physical  handicap  of,  12; 
difficulties  overcome  by,  12; 
magnitude  of  capacity  of,  12; 
limitations  regarded  in  writ- 
ing the  life  of,  13;  promi- 
nence of  in  diverse  fields,  15; 
long  acquaintanceship  of  the 
author  with,  16;  one  of  the 
great  men  of  the  times,  17; 
ancestry  of,  19;  English  lin- 
eage of,  20;  grandfathers  and 
great-grandfathers  of  de- 
scribed, 20;  maternal  grand- 
parents of,  20;  younger 
brother  of,  23;  quoted,  28; 
record  of  immediate  family 
history  of,  28,  29;  living 


298 


INDEX 


children  of,  29;  boyhood  of, 
30ff.;  not  a  young  saint,  32; 
quoted,  32;  experience  of 
with  infidels,  32;  incidents  in 
boyhood  of,  32fF.;  accident 
experienced  by,  40;  appren- 
ticed to  a  trade,  40;  knowl- 
edge of  Greek  acquired  by, 
44;  wrongly  accused  of  pla- 
giarism, 48;  school  taught 
by,  51;  as  preacher  and  pas- 
tor, 54;  quoted,  56;  health  of 
impaired,  57;  decision  of  to 
enter  the  Christian  ministry, 
57;  admission  of  into  New 
Hampshire  Annual  Confer- 
ence, 59;  Europe  visited  by, 
60;  transferred  to  New  York 
East  Conference,  61,  124; 
pastorates  of  covering  four- 
teen years,  61,  62;  reputation 
of  as  pulpit  orator,  62;  re- 
sponse of  to  exceptional  and 
critical  demands,  63;  success 
of  as  outdoor  speaker,  64; 
arrest  of  on  false  charge  of 
"conspiracy,"  65;  a  serious 
preacher,  67;  oratorical  gifts 
of  described  by  an  intimate 
friend,  68;  quotation  from 
lecture  of  on  "Psychology  of 
Audiences,"  70;  persuasive 
preaching  of,  71;  ministerial 
life  of  analyzed,  75 ;  failure  of 
to  secure  life  insurance,  78; 
health-seeking  experiences 
of,  79-85;  quoted,  80,  81,  82, 
83,  84,  86;  pedestrian  habits 
of,   86;  mountain-climbing 


trip  in  Yosemite  Valley  de- 
scribed by,  87-96;  prohfic 
mind  of,  102;  encyclopedic 
memory  of,  103;  letters  of  in 
The  Christian  Advocate, 
104;  editorials  of  not  in- 
dorsed by  everybody,  106; 
railway  incident  related  by, 
107;  editorial  policy  of,  108- 
111;  conservative  attitude 
of  toward  doctrines  and  us- 
ages of  the  Church,  112, 138; 
retirement  of,  112;  debate  of 
with  Dr.  Howell  described, 
123;  activity  of  in  General 
Conference,  127;  press  no- 
tices of  not  all  eulogies,  129; 
one  criticism  of,  130;  Gen- 
eral Conference  career  of, 
131;  parliamentary  superi- 
ority of,  133;  frequency  of 
speeches  of,  136;  humorous 
analysis  of,  137;  patriotic 
speeches  of,  144;  quoted, 
145;  invitation  to  preach  in 
Plymouth  Church,  147; 
second  trip  to  Europe,  147; 
third  trip  of  to  Europe,  148; 
quotation  from  book  by,  149; 
quoted,  160;  variety  of  au- 
thorship of,  166-169;  quoted, 
169,  186,  187;  bodily  appear- 
ance of,  260;  described  by 
Bishop  Fowler,  261;  charac- 
ter and  personality  of  an- 
alyzed, 262£F.;  marked  abil- 
ity of  displayed  in  early  life, 
267;  accused  of  possessing 
egotism,  268;  conversational 


INDEX 


299 


powers  of,  269;  o'ffice  of 
bishop  not  desired  by,  272; 
eminently  a  godly  man,  274; 
loyalty  of  to  principle,  274; 
devotion  of  to  mother,  276; 
wide  reading  of,  278;  self- 
control  possessed  by,  282; 
mental  alertness  of,  283;  ex- 
ceptional oratorical  power  of, 
284;  early  leadership  of,  286; 
tribute  of  a  business  man  to, 
290;  retired  relation  asked 
for  by,  294;  ovations  received 
by  at  Saratoga,  295 
Buckley,  John,  father  of  Dr. 
Buckley,  sketch  of,  21;  wife 
of,  22 

Burns,  Eliza  A.,  marriage  of  to 

Dr.  Buckley,  28 
Burns,  Robert,  humble  origin 

of,  264 

Buttz,  Dr.  Henry  A.,  referred 
to,  114 

Cannon,  Joseph  G.,  270 
"Captain  of  Conservatives," 

characterization  given  Dr. 

Buckley,  130 
Cartwright,  Peter,  referred  to, 

131 

Chadwick,  James  S.,  125 
Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  cited,  19 
Chautauqua,      a  distinctly 
American  institution,  210; 
described,  211;  Dr.  Buckley's 
long  connection  with,  212 
"Central  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church"    of    Detroit,  de- 
scribed, 61 


Choate,  Rufus,  referred  to,  58 
Christian  Advocate,  The,  state- 
ment in,  48;  election  of  Dr. 
Buckley  to  editorship  of,  62; 
editors  of  enumerated,  100; 
Dr.  Buckley's  long  editor- 
ship of,  100;  Dr.  Buckley's 
editorial  policy  stated  in, 
108-111;  voluntary  retire- 
ment of  Dr.  Buckley  from 
editorship  of,  112 
Christian  Literature  Company, 
174 

Christian  Science,  172,  173, 
216,  225,  248;  unique  debate 
on,  285 

Christianity,  teaching  of,  246 
Christians,  view  of,  234 
Clark,  Daniel,  referred  to,  144 
Cobden,  Richard,  referred  to, 
146 

Coles,  George,  cited,  100 
Collins,  John  A.,  cited,  100 
Committee  on  Episcopacy,  134 
Committee  on  Itinerancy,  134 
"Constitutional    and  Parlia- 
mentary   History    of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,"  Dr.  Buckley's  last 
volume,  described,  188;  re- 
viewers' opinions  of,  189, 
190,  191 
Consumption  not  hereditary, 
78 

"Contrasts  Between  Russia 
and  the  United  States," 
quotations  from,  150-152 

Crane,  Dr.  J.  Townley,  quoted, 
37 


300 


INDEX 


*Cranks,"  incident  connected, 

with  lecture  on,  250 
Curry,  Daniel,  100,  125,  126 
Cuyler,  Dr.  Theodore  L.,  opin- 
ion of,  cited,  102 

Daily  Christian  Advocate, 
sketch  of  personal  history  of 
Dr.  Buckley  in,  101;  infor- 
mation contained  in  issues 
of,  132 

Darwin,  Charles,  referred  to, 
12,  251 

Degrees,  honorary,  conferred 
on  Dr.  Buckley,  193 

Disraeli,  Benjamin,  referred  to, 
146;  quoted,  260 

Divorce  laws,  question  con- 
cerning answered,  222 

Dobbins,  Colonel,  experience 
of  with  young  Buckley,  41 

Downey,  Dr.  David  G.,  speech 
of  referred  to,  116;  resolu- 
tions presented  by,  294 

Drew  Theological  Seminary, 
lectures  of  Dr.  Buckley  at, 
293 

Durbin,  John  P.,  cited,  100 

"Ecclesiastical  Code,"  134 
Eckman,  George  P.,  cited,  100; 

quoted,  117-120;  referred  to, 

208 

Ecumenical  Conferences  of 
Methodism,  constituency  of, 
139;  Dr.  Buckley  elected 
delegate  to,  147 

Eddy,  Mrs.  Mary  Baker  G., 
opinion  concerning  work  of, 
218 


Edison,  Thomas,  achievements 
Of,  263 

Editorial  policy  of  Dr.  Buck- 
ley outlined,  108-111 

Editorial  products  of  Dr.  Buck- 
ley not  always  generally  in- 
dorsed, 106 

Egotism,  246 

England,  mother-land  of  Amer- 
ica, 19;  bulwark  of  Protes- 
tant faith,  19 

English  Methodist  Recorder, 
The,  quoted,  181 

Environment  influence  of,  224 

Evening  Post,  The,  of  Chicago, 
quoted,  130 

"Extemporaneous  Oratory," 
appraisals  of  book  by  Dr. 
Buckley  bearing  that  title, 
179-182 

Fairbanks,  Charles  W.,  quoted, 
190 

Faith  healing,  question  con- 
cerning, 235 

Faulks,  Dr.  James  Buckley, 
incident  related  by,  281 

Field,  Henry  M.,  cited,  117 

Fifth  trip  abroad,  described, 
159ff. 

Fight  for  life  of  Dr.  Buckley,77 
Fisk,  Wilbur,  referred  to,  21 
FitzGerald,  James  N.,  referred 
to,  200 

Flying  machines,  prospective 

future  of,  231 
Fourth  journey  to  Europe  by 

Dr.  Buckley,  described,  153- 

158 


INDEX 


301 


Fowler,  Charles  H.,  100;  mem- 
orable incident  associated 
with,  133;  quoted,  261 

Fremont  Presidential  cam- 
paign, participation  of  Dr. 
Buckley  in,  55 

Gazette,  of  Peking,  oldest 
newspaper  in  world,  229 

General  Conference  of  1912, 
statement  of  Dr.  Buckley  to, 
112,  113;  action  of  on  vol- 
untary retirement  of  Dr. 
Buckley,  114,  115;  descrip- 
tion of  scene  in,  116;  Dr. 
Buckley  first  elected  to 
membership  in,  126 

George,  Bishop,  referred  to,  25 

Gilbert,  Levi,  speech  of  re- 
ferred to,  115 

Gilder,  Richard  Watson,  cited, 
36 

Gladstone,  William,  referred 
to,  146 

God,  Dr.  Buckley's  conception 
of,  227 

Goucher,  Dr.  John  F.,  referred 
to,  114 

Greeley,  Horace,  referred  to, 
144 

Halls,  William,  Jr.,  gifts  of,  203 
Handel,  265 

Hannan,  Dr.  F.  Watson,  hymn 
by,  206 

Haven,  Dr.  Erastus  O.,  in- 
fluence exerted  by,  59 
Hemphill,  Major,  270 
Heredity,  what  it  does,  224 


Higher  criticism,  question  re- 
garding, 215 

Hill,  Adelaide  Shackford,  third 
wife  of  Dr.  Buckley,  28 

Hoar,  Senator  George  F., 
quoted,  184 

Holman,  the  Rev.  Calvin,  re- 
ferred to,  82 

Honorary  organizations,  mem- 
bership of  Dr.  Buckley  in, 
195 

Hospitals  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  list  of, 
205 

Howell,  Dr.  J.  C,  Adventist, 

56,  123,  124 
Huxley,  Thomas  Henry,  cited, 

19 

Hypnotism,  question  concern- 
ing, 217 

Immortality,  no  proofs  of,  227 
Independent,    The,  quoted, 
175 

Ingersoll,  Robert  G.,  parody 
on  eulogy  by,  66;  question 
concerning,  217 

James,  William,  referred  to, 
174 

Jennings,  Dr.  Jesse  W.,  quoted, 
129 

Joy,  James  R.,  cited,  100 

Kavanagh,  A.  S.,  speech  of 
referred  to,  115;  address  by, 
197;  quoted,  204;  referred 
to,  209 


302 


INDEX 


Kelley,  Dr.  William  V.,  quoted, 
106,  166;  referred  to,  208; 
quoted,  213 

Kossuth,  Hungarian  patriot, 
referred  to,  41 

Lanahan,  John,  referred  to, 
131 

Landon,  Dr.  Thomas  H., 
quoted,  42-51;  members  of 
class  taught  by,  43 

Letters  of  travel  by  Dr.  Buck- 
ley, list  of,  142,  143 

Lind,  Jenny,  145 

Lippincott,  B.  C,  referred  to, 
43 

Lodge,  Sir  Oliver,  referred  to, 
174 

Lowell,  James  Russell,  referred 
to,  174 

Luckey,  Samuel,  cited,  100 

MacVeagh,  Wayne,  270 
Mains,  George  Preston,  inci- 
dent in  home  of,  280 
Marriage,  229 

Matheson,  Dr.  A.  Ross,  re- 
ferred to,  208 

Mayflower,  the,  234 

McKelway,  Dr.  St.  Clair, 
quoted,  68,  208,  260 

Methodist,  The,  of  Sydney, 
Austraha,  quoted,  139 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
leadership  of  in  American 
Christianity,  11;  Dr.  Buck- 
ley's position  in,  11 

Methodist  Episcopal  Hospital, 
relations   of   Dr.  Buckley 


with,  197;  origin  of,  199; 
history  and  work  of,  200- 
203;  celebration  of  twenty- 
fifth  anniversary  of  opening 
of,  207 

Methodist      Review,  the, 

quoted,  179 
Methodist    Times,    The,  of 

London,  quoted,  180 
Milton,  John,  cited,  19 
Minister,  age  for  retirement  of, 

238 

Money,  tainted.  Dr.  Buckley's 
view  on,  236 

Monroe,  Abby  Lonsdale, 
mother  of  Dr.  Buckley, 
sketch  of,  22;  marriage  of, 
23;  private  school  estab- 
lished by,  24;  ideals  of,  25; 
activities  of,  26;  death  of, 
27 

Monroe,  the  Rev.  Doctor  S.  Y., 
accidental  death  of,  22 

Moody,  Dwight  L.,  an  edu- 
cated man,  232 

Mugwump,  Mr.  Beecher  ad- 
mittedly one,  244 

Napoleon,  influence  of  on 
world,  264 

Neely,  Dr.  (now  Bishop),  133 

New  Hampshire  Annual  Con- 
ference, admission  of  Mr. 
Buckley  into,  59 

New  York  Preachers'  Meeting, 
entrance  of  Dr.  Buckley 
into,  124 

New  York  East  Conference, 
resolutions  adopted  by  rel^ 


INDEX 


tive  to  retirement  of  Dr. 
Buckley,  294 

Nicholson,  Thomas,  speech  of 
referred  to,  116 

Noble,  Dr.  Eugene  A.,  referred 
to,  208,  209 

Nonchurchgoing  among  labor- 
ing classes,  reasons  for,  228 

Novels,  reading  of,  238 

Oil,  anointment  with,  no  au- 
thority for,  222 

Oratory,  extemporaneous,  con- 
sidered, 176 

Paine,  Thomas,  works  of  read 

by  Dr.  Buckley,  32 
Palmerston,  Lord,  referred  to, 

146 

Parables,  question  concerning 

answered,  240 
Parker,  Dr.  Joseph,  referred  to, 

145 

Parkhurst,    Dr.  Charles, 

quoted,  128 
Parsons,  Solomon,  referred  to, 

43 

Patten,  Hon.  John  A.,  speech 

of  referred  to,  116 
Peace,  preparation  for,  218 
Pearsall,  James  W.,  referred  to, 

208 

Peck,  George,  referred  to,  131 
Pedestrian  feat  of  Dr.  Buckley, 
apocryphal  description  of,  97 
Pennington  Seminary,  37,  41; 
career  of  young  Buckley  at 
44;  later  years  of  Mr.  Buck- 
ley in,  51;  debates  in,  122, 
123,  124 


303 

Phillips,  Wendell,  referred  to, 

58 

Phillips  Academy,  58 

Plagiarizing,  258 

Pope,  the,  opportunity  of  to 
read  The  Christian  Advo- 
cate, 221 

Prejudice,  245 

Presiding  elders,  election  of  op- 
posed by  Dr.  Buckley,  136 
Prime,  S.  Irenaeus,  cited,  117 
Proctor,  Senator  Redfield,  270 
Public  Ledger,  of  Philadelphia, 

quoted,  128 
Pullman,  Joseph,  125 
Punshon,  William  Morley,  re- 
ferred to,  145 

"Question  Box,"  at  Chautau- 
qua, 213 

Questions  and  Answers,  215- 
240 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  289 
Reading,  question  concerning 

answered,  220 
Religion,  what  it  is,  233 
Reynolds,   Hon.   George  G., 

quoted,  190;  referred  to,  208, 

209 

Roach,  John  A.,  cited,  125 
Roman  Catholic  organization, 
235 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  234,  257, 
269 

Root,  Senator  EUhu,  270 
Russell,  Lord,  referred  to,  146 

Sabbath,  the,  229;  opinion  of 
Dr.  Buckley  regarding,  254 


304 


INDEX 


Sargeant,  Francis,  270 
Selfishness  of  men,  237 
Seney,  George  I.,  philanthropic 

activities  of,  199 
Sermon,  best  divisions  of  a, 

234 

Shakespeare,  William,  cited, 
19 

Sin,  origin  of,  question  and 

answer  concerning,  237 
Sixth  journey  abroad,  itinerary 

of,  163,  164 
Skepticism,  treatment  for,  219 
Slate,  Albert,  referred  to,  43 
Smith,    Dr.    George  Adam, 

quoted,  157 
Smith,  Dr.  Robertson,  trial  of 

referred  to,  148 
Smoking,  danger  of  habit  of, 

231 

Socrates,  not  a  Christian,  232 
Spencer,  Herbert,  referred  to, 
12 

Spenser,  Edmund,  cited,  19 
Spirits,  disembodied,  answer  to 

question  concerning,  219 
Spurgeon,  Charles,  referred  to, 

145 

Stanley,  Dean,  referred  to,  145 
Staples,  Sarah  Isabella  French, 

second  wife  of  Dr.  Buckley, 

28 

Stevens,  Abel,  cited,  100 
Stewart,  Dr.  Scott,  hospital 

founded  by,  205 
Sumner,  Charles,  referred  to, 

144 

Sun,  The  New  York,  quoted, 
180 


Tennyson,  Alfred,  incident 
concerning,  146;  referred  to, 
124 

Thalberg,  145 

Theater-going,  Dr.  Buckley  on, 
169 

Thompson,  John  Rhey,  cited, 
125 

Thomson,  Edward,  cited,  100 
Tilton,  Theodore,  referred  to, 
147 

Trimble,  Joseph  M.,  referred 

to,  132 

Trumbull,  Henry  Clay,  cited, 
117 

Twain,  Mark,  270 
Tyndall,  John,  cited,  19 

Urmy,  Ralph  B.,  referred  to, 
208 

Vincent,  John  Heyl,  personal- 
ity of,  210 

Votes  received  by  Dr.  Buckley 
as  editor  of  The  Christian 
Advocate,  100 

Wallace,  Governor,  speech  of 
referred  to,  115 

Ward,  Artemus,  quoted,  240 

Warren,  Henry  W.,  election  of 
as  a  bishop  referred  to  by 
Dr.  Buckley,  113 

Watterson,  Henry,  270 

Waugh,  Bishop  Beverly,  re- 
ferred to,  37 

Webster,  Daniel,  referred  to, 
58 

Wesleyan  Academy,  referred 
to,  21 


INDEX 


305 


Wesleyan  University,  referred 
to,  54 

Wheeler,  Judge,  introduction 
of  Dr.  Buckley  by,  262 

White,  Hon.  Andrew  D., 
quoted,  180 

Wilson,  Bishop  Luther  B.,  re- 
ferred to,  208,  209 

Wing,  Charles  S.,  cited,  125 

"Wit  and  Wisdom,"  241 

*'Wit  of  Methodism,"  term  ap- 
plied to  Dr.  Buckley,  69 

Woodruff,  George  W.,  cited, 
125 


Woman  suffrage,  130;  diverse 
opinions  of  Dr.  Buckley's 
book  on,  184,  185 

Woman,  sphere  of,  answer 
concerning,  226,  239 

Wordsworth,  William,  cited,  19 

Yosemite  Valley,  experience  of 
Dr.  Buckley  in,  87-96 

Young,  John  W.,  referred  to, 
43 

Zane,  William,  referred  to,  43 
Zion's  Herald,  59,  128 


